Emperor Akihito meets Vietnamese families with connection to former Japanese soldiers. (Source: VNA) Hanoi(VNA) – The visit of the Japanese Emperor and Empress to Vietnam from February28 to March 5 has received a lot of attention from the world media.
On March 1, manymajor Japanese newspapers carried on the front page the warm welcome given tothe Japanese royal couple in Vietnam.
The Kyodo News quoted Emperor Akihito as sayingat a State banquet hosted by President Tran Dai Quang on March 1 evening that "It is my sincere hope that our visitwill contribute to further deepening our mutual understanding and strengtheningthe ties of friendly relations between the people of Vietnam and the people ofJapan."
Japanese mediahighlighted that Vietnam and Japan are strategic partners and Japan iscurrently the top economic partner and the largest ODA provider of Vietnam.
Some citedcomments by political analyst Le Hong Hiep at Singapore’s Institute for SouthEast Asia Studies, noting that this is the first visit by a Japanese Emperor toVietnam since the two countries established diplomatic ties. In addition, ittook place less than two months after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abevisited Hanoi, which showed the close ties and high mutual trust between thetwo nations.
Publicbroadcaster NHK said the Emperor and Empress’s visit added freshness and madethe Vietnam-Japan ties more complete.
Talking to the French news agency AFP, Yuji Otabe, professor at Shizuoka Universityof Welfare and expert on Japanese modern history said, "This is a verymeaningful visit for both Japan and Vietnam as the emperor, who is expected toretire soon, shows his deep sympathy towards people who suffered from history."-VNA
