Japan would welcome Five Eyes invite

TOKYO, Japan (Global Times) — Tokyo would welcome an invitation to join the Five Eyes (FVEY) intelligence alliance, Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono was quoted as saying, raising eyebrows from its neighbor China.

There has been rampant speculation that bilateral relations between China and Japan will further deteriorate after British media reported last week that the Five Eyes alliance — made up of the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — is considering expanding its membership to include Japan.

Liu Junhong, an expert from the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations who specializes in Japan issues, told the Global Times that Japan’s willingness to join the bloc is based on its mistrust of China, despite bilateral relations being generally positive in the past two years.

“Japan has close ties with the US in terms of security, as it has an inherent mistrust on security with China,” Liu told the Global Times.

“Domestic pressures from the pandemic cases and maritime issues in South and East China seas have made the Japanese government nervous, which leads to it seeking foreign support and intervention.”

Amid the ongoing China-US rivalry, many are worried that Japan will further provide information to the US, but experts believe that Japan’s participation in the alliance will not make much difference to the US, as the two countries have already established close intelligence exchanges.