Japan held cyber defense exercises with five Pacific island nations last month in an effort to shore up cybersecurity defenses in the region.

The cybersecurity exercise event, held in Guam in mid-February, was a first for Japan. Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications led the event, which included government officials and network providers from Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, and Palau, with Fiji and Tonga on-site as observers.

“When it comes to cybersecurity, Pacific island countries have been what I call a ‘soft belly,’ very vulnerable to cyberattacks,” Hideyuki Shiozawa, senior program officer for Pacific island nations at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, told Kyodo News, which reported on the event.