Promoting Comprehensive Cooperation between Japanese and Vietnamese Localities

This is a meaningful initiative, contributing to strengthening the multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Japan in the near future.

This event is organized by the Council for Collaboration of Prefectures and Major Cities of Japan and the Embassy of Viet Nam in Tokyo, in the context of increasing interest from Japanese localities in learning about Vietnam’s socio-economic situation, investment opportunities, labor, and culture, as well as in fostering bilateral cooperation with Vietnam.

Therefore, organizing this event today has significant implications; it provides an opportunity for the Vietnamese Embassy to continue promoting cooperation policies and Vietnam’s image to Japanese local representatives, expanding relations with Japan’s local network, and thereby creating favorable conditions to advance local cooperation in the future.

In his speech at the event, Mr. Pham Quang Hieu, Ambassador of Vietnam to Japan, proposed specific cooperative measures between the Vietnamese Embassy and the Council for Collaboration of Prefectures and Major Cities of Japan moving forward.

Representatives from various Japanese localities highly appreciate Vietnam’s development potential and expressed a desire to deepen cooperation with Vietnam, both at the national and local levels, in the future.

Mr. Daisuke Nakaoka, a representative of the Hiroshima Prefectural Office in Tokyo, shared: “Currently, there are more than 10,000 Vietnamese people living and working in Hiroshima, making them the largest foreign community in the prefecture. This May, Vietnam’s Vietjet Air launched a direct flight connecting Hiroshima and Hanoi. In June, we also signed a formal cooperation agreement with Thanh Hoa Province. For us, cooperation with Vietnam is extremely important. We hope to expand and deepen this relationship in the future and welcome more Vietnamese to live and work in the locality.”

Japanese local representatives also showed concern about the depreciation of the yen and its potential impact on attracting Vietnamese workers to Japan. Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu noted that the vast majority of Vietnamese currently living and working in Japan, as well as those who have worked in Japan before, express a strong desire to continue working or return to work in Japan. This demonstrates that the strong bond and positive relationship between the two countries, as well as the affection between the two peoples, are the main driving forces for Vietnamese people to live, study, and work in Japan.

The Council for Collaboration of Prefectures and Major Cities of Japan is a local cooperation support mechanism established by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in August 2017. Its purpose is to disseminate information to enable localities to implement international cooperation programs in alignment with Japan’s foreign policy, while also promoting international cooperative projects across various fields. Currently, the Council has 75 members, including representatives from 47 prefectures and 20 major cities in Japan with representative offices in Tokyo.