Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) — The 11th Japan-Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City (JVF11) officially opened on March 7 at September 23 Park in Ben Thanh ward, featuring a wide range of cultural, sports, trade and tourism activities that highlight the distinctive cultures of both countries, contributing to strengthening the friendship between the Vietnamese and Japanese people.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vo Van Minh, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and Chairman of the municipal People’s Council, said that after more than a decade of development, the Japan-Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City has become a significant international cultural exchange event and a vivid symbol of the strong and enduring friendship between the two nations.
The festival has grown into a multi-sector platform covering various fields, including culture, arts, trade, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, thereby contributing to deepening the Vietnam–Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
This year’s event carries special significance as it marks the beginning of the festival’s second decade, opening a new chapter with greater expectations and opportunities for deeper cooperation between the two countries. It not only continues a meaningful tradition but also conveys a strong message of partnership, cooperation and shared efforts in shaping the future.
Minh expressed confidence that the festival’s diverse activities would create a vibrant cultural space where people of both countries, especially the younger generation, can meet, share experience and gain a deeper understanding of one another while working toward a sustainable future.
Through cultural experiences, sincere exchanges and meaningful interactions during the festival, the friendship between the people of Vietnam and Japan will continue to grow stronger and spread more widely, he said.
Takebe Tsutomu, Special Advisor to the Japan–Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance and honorary head of the organising board of the 2026 Vietnam–Japan Festival, said that as Vietnam enters a new stage of promising development, the 11th edition of the festival holds particular significance.
It marks another milestone in strengthening the comprehensive friendship and cooperation between the two nations, becoming a hub where the cultures and people of Vietnam and Japan meet, share and resonate with one another.
According to Takebe, the festival provides a foundation for the two countries to expand cultural exchanges and human resource cooperation, while promoting new values across Asia and the world. It also aims to develop into a practical exchange centre where economic cooperation and human resource connectivity can intersect and grow.
Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu noted that after more than 10 years of development, the JVF has evolved beyond a cultural exchange event into a platform for connecting shared values, fostering close friendship between the two peoples and strengthening the foundation of the Vietnam–Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
He added that JVF11 is even more meaningful as it serves as the opening event for bilateral exchanges and cooperation in 2026 - the first year after Vietnam successfully held the 14th National Party Congress and Japan completed its House of Representatives election, with both countries having a new leadership.
Vu expressed confidence that the festival would be a great success, continuing to serve as a bridge of friendship that strengthens trust and close ties between the two peoples while promoting multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Japan.
The main activities of the festival are scheduled for March 7-8, at various locations across Ho Chi Minh City, including trade, cuisine and tourism exchange events; exhibitions promoting Vietnamese and Japanese products; seminars on tourism promotion and Japanese educational cooperation in Vietnam; as well as cultural and sports exchanges, particularly among young people from Ho Chi Minh City and Japan.
The festival also features a friendship cycling event, COS-MIC ASIA in JVF, an Ao dai (Vietnam’s traditional long dress) design contest, a Kimono design workshop, the first Yosakoi festival, and performances showcasing Vietnamese and Japanese traditional court music.
Notably, the trade, cuisine, culture and tourism promotion programme between Vietnam and Japan is the largest ever held within the festival, featuring more than 300 booths from businesses of both countries.
A cultural and art exchange programme with energetic performances by artists from both countries, including Vietnamese singers Dong Nhi, B Ray, and Captain Boy, along with Japanese guest group Psychic Fever from Exile Tribe, is expected to bring exciting moments to audiences in the city./.
Vietnam, Japan commit to strengthening comprehensive strategic partnership
Vietnam remains steadfast in its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of relations, in which Japan is viewed as a leading, long-term and trusted partner in the new era of development driven by knowledge, science and technology.
