Vietnam Festival opens in Tokyo

Prominent among the participants were Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang, Ambassador Pham Quan Hieu, Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Komura Masahiro, and former Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda.

Hieu expressed deep sympathies to the victims of the recent earthquake in Ishikawa and his belief that the Vietnamese community in Ishikawa in particular and Japan in general will bring into full play their spirit of solidary to overcome their difficulties and stabilise their life.

Hang held that the two-day festival is a chance for the people of the two countries show their solidarity, and spoke highly of the efforts by the Vietnamese community in Japan over the recent past, not only to help those in the community but also locals in the difficult times.

Meanwhile, Komura Masahiro said he hopes that the Vietnam Festival will be held in many localities in Japan and said the popularity of the festival is a manifestation of Japanese people’s interest in Vietnam. He expressed his belief that through the cultural exchanges, the close relations between the two countries will further develop in the next 50 years.

The festival sees 17 pavilions offering Vietnam’s popular food and fruit. It expects to draw about 80,000 visits.