Japan has taken another important step toward deepening ties with individual members of the Five Eyes intelligence group by inking a classified information-sharing deal with Canada.
Designed to enable exchanges of national security-related data and facilitate two-way defense procurements, the Security of Information Agreement (SIA) was signed by Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and his Canadian counterpart, Anita Anand, in a ceremony Tuesday in Tokyo.
The legally binding instrument, which must still be ratified by parliament, will regulate how sensitive information will be shared, handled, stored and disposed of by the two sides. While the deal does not itself authorize information exchanges or specify what data will be exchanged, it is seen as an important step to deepen bilateral defense and security ties.
Japan and Canada ink key intel-sharing deal
