Osaka (VNA) – As part of his visit to Japan, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long held a series of meetings with the local leadership, friendship associations, and Vietnamese expatriate community in Osaka on September 8.
The Vietnamese official met with Governor of Osaka prefecture Yoshimura Hirofumi, Chairman of the Japan – Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance of Osaka Wada Kenji; Chairman of the Japan – Vietnam Friendship Association in the Kansai region Nishimura Teichi, and Chairman of the Japan – Vietnam Friendship Association in Sakai city Kato Hitoshi. He also met representatives of the Vietnamese community in Kansai and attended a special concert marking Vietnam’s 80th National Day.
Long expressed delight at the flourishing Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries, including the cooperation between Vietnam and the Kansai region, underpinned by strong political trust. He affirmed that the bilateral relationship is currently in its prime, with both nations closely bound across multiple sectors like trade, economy, culture, and people-to-people exchange.
The Japanese partners congratulated Vietnam on the 80th National Day anniversary and highly valued the country's development achievements. They voiced their readiness to work closely with Vietnam to further strengthen cooperation across all areas, reflecting the excellent ties between the two countries.
At his meeting with Governor Yoshimura, the Deputy PM called for expanding cooperation between Osaka and Vietnamese localities in areas such as IT, artificial intelligence, and semiconductor, while also proposing additional direct air routes to boost tourism and exchanges. He further asked for support for the large Vietnamese community studying and working in Osaka and across Japan. Governor Yoshimura thanked Long for Vietnam’s participation in the EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, noting that the Vietnamese pavilion is among the most popular with Japanese and international visitors. He expressed confidence that cultural exchanges will continue to foster mutual understanding and stronger ties between the Vietnamese and Japanese peoples.
Meeting with the Japan – Vietnam friendship associations, Long encouraged them to further promote mutual visits, economic cooperation, cultural links, tourism, as well as locality-to-locality and people-to-people activities. The association leaders welcomed his recommendations.
Representing the association of the Vietnamese people in Kansai, Chairwoman Le Thi Thuong highlighted initiatives supporting the community's solidarity, promoting Vietnamese language education, preserving cultural traditions, and nurturing their bonds with the homeland. She proposed that the Vietnamese Government encourage universities to establish branches abroad for teaching the mother tongue and organise official Vietnamese language proficiency exams overseas.
Long reaffirmed that overseas Vietnamese are an inseparable part of the nation, praising the community’s growth while calling for compliance with local laws, solidarity within the community, and active contributions to the homeland.
On the same day, the Deputy PM visited Leximco, run by Vietnamese entrepreneur Nguyen Tien Hanh, and inaugurated Vietnam House, a centre designed to strengthen trade, investment, and technology transfer between Vietnam and Japan.
In the evening, he attended and delivered remarks at the National Day concert at the Fenice Sakai Theatre. The event, featuring Vietnamese and Japanese works, received warm applause from an audience of around 1,000 people from both countries./.
