The Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences has suggested the establishment of a centre for Vietnam-Japan exchange, research and cooperation to facilitate Vietnamese researchers in conducting Japanese studies.

The centre will also help expand Vietnamese researchers’ internal and external cooperation on the formation of a research network among Vietnamese experts and their peers in Japan and other Southeast Asian countries in the field, according to the academy.

The academy on October 22 coordinated with the Southeast Asian Association for Japanese Studies and the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam to organise a symposium on “Japanese Studies in Southeast Asia: the past, the present and the future”.

The event, the second of its kind, heard presentations on a wide range of topics in Japan delivered by researchers from universities and research institutes from Japan, the US, the UK, Austria, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

In Vietnam, Prof. Le Van Sang from the World Economy Institute was a pioneer in Japanese studies in economy, which served as a foundation for other Vietnamese experts to build on.

Vietnamese researchers began embarking on a thorough study of Japan in the 1980s. Later in 1993, a Japanese Studies Centre was established, and is currently an important component of the Northeast Asian Research Centre of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

Dr. Dang Nguyen Anh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, said Vietnamese researchers have expanded their Japanese studies beyond the traditional domains of economy and culture to new fields.

They are now interested in social development, people, environment, the eco-system, new scientific and technological advances, and even socio-economic problems that cost Japan dearly during its development cause.

According to Inoki Takenori, Director of the Japanese Centre for International Studies in Kyoto, foreign researchers want to inquire into practical issues in Japan and draw lessons for their countries./.