Tokyo: Japan is set to attend for the first time a meeting of the Combined Space Operations (CSpO) initiative, a cooperation framework for space security among seven countries including the United States and Britain, Jiji Press learned Sunday.

At the meeting to be held in Berlin from Wednesday, the current member countries are slated to discuss Japan’s bid to become an official CSpO member, among other topics, informed sources said.

At a time when space is becoming a combat area along with land, sea, air and cyberspace and its importance in the security field is increasing, Japan is moving to deepen cooperation with the United States and other Western countries in a bid to strengthen its space surveillance capabilities.

If Japan obtains CSpO membership, that would be a major step for the country for the constant monitoring of threats in space, pundits said.

The CSpO initiative currently comprises the members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance–the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand–plus France and Germany.

Officials from Japan’s Defense Ministry and Air Self-Defense Force are slated to take part in the upcoming meeting.

The member countries of the CSpO initiative share information about space domain awareness capabilities, designed to monitor and track threats in space, and train their space units.

Through multilateral cooperation, they aim to prevent conflicts and promote the responsible use of space.

A source familiar with the matter said that even if Japan joins the CSpO initiative, it would not consider the option of taking steps based on its collective self-defense right.

Given that it is impossible for Japan to monitor threats in space on its own, sharing data with countries that share values will help Tokyo “figure out what is happening (in space),” the source said.

In March last year, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces launched the Space Operations Group, which is in charge of operating a space monitoring system, as Russia and China are working on developing killer satellites, designed to destroy artificial satellites.

“If Japan joins the CSpO initiative, the country would be able to learn know-how (from partner countries) and train necessary personnel more efficiently,” the source said.

The CSpO framework was established in 2014 by the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia. New Zealand joined it in 2015, and France and Germany in 2020.