The Self Defense Fleet conducted a petty officers exchange with the U.S. Seventh Fleet.

On May 16, Command Master Chief of Self Defense Fleet, Chief Petty Officer KITAGUCHI Takeshi conducted a Japan-U.S. petty officers exchange with Command Master Chief of the U.S. 7th Fleet, Chief Petty Officer Daniel K. Field.
The exchange event was attended by petty officers of the Self Defense Fleet and those who were selected as candidates for the 2022 U.S. 7th Fleet Petty Officer of the Year as well as visited petty officers of the New Zealand and Singapore Navies as observers. They visited JS IZUMO and USS HOWARD and toured a bombproof shelter of the Imperial Japanese Navy which is still preserved at Yokosuka Naval Base. Through the exchange event, they assured their friendship and further deepened a relationship of trust.
Command Master Chief of the JMSDF, Chief Petty Officer AZUMA Kazuhito, participated in the exchange event as a guest, saying, “Each unit of the JMSDF and the U.S. Navy has been strengthening their relationship by always working together at sea. In addition, individual petty officers and soldiers who are the motive power of each unit has been deepening their cooperation and friendship through this kind of exchange event. It is such cooperation that lies at the core of our ever-stronger relationship.”
The Self Defense Fleet puts all our efforts to defend Japan in support of the Japan-U.S. Alliance by working closely with the U.S. 7th Fleet from the Commander to the petty officers and seamen in peacetime as well as contributes to peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region for the realization of a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" in cooperation with allied and like-minded navies.

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