‘Vietnam-Japan relations are at their best ever’

“Vietnam-Japan relations are at their best ever. Upgrading the relationship to ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World’ at the end of 2023 demonstrates the political trust between the senior leaders and governments of the two countries,” said Mr. Ito Naoki, who began working as Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam in May, at a press conference in Hanoi on June 28.

He pointed out that bilateral relations have been upgraded in the year marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, as well as nearly 10 years after the two countries upgraded their relations to an Extensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia.

“After only 10 years, the relationship has been upgraded and many achievements have been achieved. That is something worth pondering and appreciating. This shows that Vietnam has made great progress in the past 10 years, not only economically, but is also of interest to many countries and partners around the world. Vietnam’s role in ASEAN and Asia is also increasingly strengthened and respected,” Ambassador Ito said.

Japanese officials hope that bilateral cooperation will be comprehensively expanded at all levels and in all fields. “One of the important tasks during my term is to move the two countries’ relationship forward to the next 50 years and concretize the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and beyond. world,” he said.

In the economic field, Japan wishes to continue to support Vietnam’s further development in the coming time, in the context that Vietnam has set the goal of becoming a developed country by 2045.

Mr. Ito highlighted the role of ODA from Japan in Vietnam’s economic development over the past 30 years. In addition to traditional fields, Japan also wants to strengthen cooperation in new fields such as energy development, green transformation, and digital transformation.

The Ambassador expressed his hope that the projects that the two sides are implementing will be accelerated. He also hoped that Vietnam would focus on improving investment procedures in Vietnam so that the approval and licensing process can be accelerated. “To attract investment in new areas such as clean energy, green transformation, digital transformation, AI… Vietnam should further improve the investment environment and increase its attractiveness to investors,” he said.

In addition to economic cooperation, training and using Vietnamese labor resources are also mentioned topics. Mr. Ito said there are about 570,000 Vietnamese people living in Japan, of which 420,000 come for labor purposes. Vietnamese people lead the number of foreign workers in this country.

Japan is facing an aging population, a problem considered very urgent, leading to a shortage of labor force.

“Vietnamese interns who come to Japan to work have made great contributions to socio-economic development. Vietnamese workers play a very active role in many professional fields in Japan, such as nursing care, agricultural production, industrial manufacturing, food processing,” Ambassador Ito said.

Japan wants to create a safe and secure working environment and “help Vietnamese workers feel happy”. The Japanese government is making efforts to improve and amend the mechanism for receiving Vietnamese workers, expanding the fields and industries in which Vietnamese workers can participate.

The mechanism of specific technical intern trainees (with expertise and skills in certain fields) will help Vietnamese workers have the right to stay in Japan longer, with many guaranteed benefits and conditions for them to improve their professional skills.

“After Vietnamese workers come to Japan to work, they can return and serve Vietnam’s human resource needs, as well as work for Japanese businesses investing in Vietnam. This is a weekly cycle. Very good, creating a mutually beneficial relationship for both Vietnam and Japan,” he said.

The Japanese Ambassador said he had the opportunity to meet many leaders, government agencies, businesses and Vietnamese people, even though he had just arrived to work not long ago.

“I feel that the leaders and people of Vietnam have great expectations for the cooperative relationship between the two countries, as well as the expectation that I will further promote and deepen this relationship. That is a responsibility and a belief. It’s an honor and I will try to meet the expectations of the Vietnamese government and people for me,” Ambassador Ito emphasized.