Thunderbirds are go in Japan military recruitment drive A series of posters are being released that will underline the similarities in the tasks that face Japan's Self-Defence Forces and the International Rescue Organisation, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence in Tokyo told The Daily Telegraph. "This is just one part of our larger recruitment plan and we are hoping this collaboration will be helpful to both sides," he said. We think that the SDF and IRO have many things in common. No figure has been put on the number of new recruits the armed forces are aiming to attract with the campaign. The Japan Coast Guard has recently reported a surge in the number of people applying to join its ranks thanks to media coverage of its operations against Chinese and Taiwanese vessels approaching the Senkaku islands, which both governments claim but Japan presently controls. One of the SDF recruitment posters features the five sons of Jeff Tracy, who piloted the Thunderbirds craft, in their matching blue uniforms, sashes and hats, along with Prince Pickles, the cuddly cartoon character who has been used by the SDF in previous campaigns, in his three guises as pilot, soldier and sailor. Against a background of the five familiar craft that International Rescue use in their missions, a slogan reads: "Join the Self-Defence Forces and help the public!" Thunderbirds was first broadcast in the UK in 1965 and ran for 32 episodes, breaking new ground at the time for its "supermarionation" techniques. It proved popular in Japan, where merchandising and models are still much in demand among collectors.