Two Japanese citizens Yukihisa Hirano and Taro Nakajima have become the first honorary consuls of Vietnam in Japan.

Under the Vietnamese Foreign Minister’s decision, the Chairman of the Central Japan International Airport Co. Ltd. (Centrair) Yukihisa Hirano is appointed as the honorary consul in Nagoya city in Aichi prefecture, while the President of the Kushiro Coal Exploitation Company, Taro Nakajima will cover Kushiro city in Hokkaido prefecture.

At a ceremony on Sept. 29, to present the decision, Ambassador Nguyen Phu Binh praised Hirano and Nakajima’s active contributions to the two countries’ relationship, expressing the hope that in their new position, they would make greater and effective contributions to bilateral ties.

Talking with the Vietnam News Agency correspondent, Hirano said the Vietnam-Japan relationship is booming and many Nagoya businesses are operating effectively in Vietnam .

He said he plans to organise seminars to introduce Vietnam ’s investment environment before devising any concrete plans to boost ties with Vietnamese partners.

For his part, Nakagima said he was proud to be appointed as honorary consul of Vietnam in Kushiro and committed to do his best to further the cooperation and exchange with Vietnam .

He said his company would enhance cooperation with Vietnamese partners and receive Vietnamese trainees for further training in the field.

Apart from the Embassy in Tokyo , Vietnam has two consulates in Osaka and Fukuoka cities./.