Themed "Hand in Hand – Together Forever," the festival aims to foster deeper understanding and strengthen the bond between the people of both nations. The opening ceremony was attended by senior Vietnamese and Japanese officials, underscoring the event’s significance in promoting bilateral relations.
Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Van Duoc highlighted the festival’s decade-long journey since its inaugural event in 2013, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Japan.
This year’s event coincides with the second year of the Vietnam-Japan comprehensive strategic partnership. Duoc expressed optimism that this strengthened relationship would open new opportunities for investment cooperation, cultural exchange, and mutual development. He also noted the upcoming inauguration of Metro Line No. 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien) on March 9 as a milestone in the city’s urban infrastructure collaboration with Japan.
Takebe Tsutomu, Special Advisor to the Japan-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance, praised the festival for enhancing mutual understanding and fostering connections between the two countries across fields such as economy, culture, society, and academia. He expressed his hope that Vietnam and Japan would continue to strengthen their collaboration with a spirit of solidarity for the future.
A dance performance of Japanese artists at the festival (Photo: VNA)
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu called the festival’s theme a powerful message of solidarity and commitment to nurturing the enduring friendship between the two nations. He expressed his confidence that the festival would continue to expand, creating more practical and effective opportunities for cooperation.
According to Sugano Yuichi, Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Vietnam, a sponsor of the event, the festival is one of the largest Vietnam - Japan exchange event in Vietnam, with this year having more stalls than the previous years.
This year’s festival features over 100 booths, around 30 stage performances, and special activity zones, including Olympic sports events. Organisers expect the event to attract about 450,000 visitors, surpassing last year’s record of 420,000.
The two-day festival includes trade, culinary, and tourism exchange events, as well as seminars and business meetings promoting Japanese tourism in Vietnam. The highlights are cultural exchange programmes between Vietnamese and Japanese students, cycling events, musical performances, traditional Japanese sports demonstrations, and showcases of Vietnamese ao dai and Japanese calligraphy.
Cycling forms part of activities in the festival (Photo: VNA)
To mark its 10th anniversary, HCM City plans to host the first-ever cultural festival in Tokyo on November 1-2. The event will feature cultural performances, LED light displays, exhibitions, and trade and investment promotion activities, further strengthening bilateral ties.
