Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Doan Xuan Hung has underscored the need to explore the links with Japan’s localities during his visit to Toyama prefecture, 400 km northwest of Tokyo.

The three-day visit, which began on August 29, is part of activities to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Japan.

Hung attended a seminar on Vietnamese economy in Toyama on August 30, providing representatives of more than 100 local businesses with the latest information on investment and human resources in Vietnam.

The Ambassador reiterated that Vietnam always welcomes Japanese investors, including those from Toyama .

Earlier, at a meeting with Toyama Governor Takakazu Ishii, Ambassador Hung suggested the prefecture’s businesses receive Vietnamese trainees to work for them.

The Governor, for his part, revealed that 250 Toyama businesses have invested in over 500 projects in China and Southeast Asia and that they will shift their investments from Thailand and India to Indonesia and Vietnam as the former markets favour US investors.

He said he realises that the Vietnamese government’s treasuring of its relations with Japan and adoption of preferential policies for Japanese investors have made Toyama businesspeople feel secure about moving into the Southeast Asian country.

With a population of over one million, Toyama is Japan’s leading prefecture in terms of industry, earning around 50 billion USD in revenue in 2012.

Many of small and medium-sized businesses in the prefecture are engaged in the supporting industry, the field that has caught Vietnam’s interests.

Earlier, Ambassador Hung and his entourage visited the headquarters of Kuroda Chemical Company, which has built a plant in Vietnam’s northern Hai Duong province since 2006.-VNA