Vietnam-Japan relations growing robustly: expert

Tokyo (VNA) – The Vietnam-Japan relations are growing robustly, said Motoyoshi Ryokichi, former General Secretary of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association, in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s official visit to Vietnam as part of his first long trip overseas since taking office.

According to Motoyoshi, in the past three years, Vietnamese and Japanese leaders have paid regular visits to each other despite COVID-19. In late 2020, Kishida's predecessor Suga Yoshihide chose Vietnam as a destination on his first foreign trip since taking office. In November 2021, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh paid an official visit to Japan and became the first foreign leader Kishida received after assuming his PM position.  
Motoyoshi emphasised that tremendous room is available for cooperation between the two countries, especially in economy, trade and human resource cooperation.

He noted that Japan has an aging population hence the demand for more foreign workers, while Vietnam has an abundant labour force. Currently, Vietnam is the country with the largest number of technical interns in Japan. Notably, Vietnamese workers make a good impression in Japan thanks to their intelligence, diligence, and good skills.

He said he believes when the Japanese Government completely lifts entry restriction measures, the number of Vietnamese trainees would increase even more.

As a legal consultant for Vietnamese people in Japan, Motoyoshi said that the authorities and businesses of both countries need to work on further improving the quality of their human resources cooperation, particularly regarding the training of Vietnamese workers and their working conditions in Japan.

In 2023, Japan and Vietnam will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations, there will certainly be a lot of exchange and cooperation activities between the two countries deployed at all levels across many spheres, said Motoyoshi.

This is a good opportunity for the two peoples to enhance mutual understanding, and together make more practical contributions to their nations’ socio-economic development and bilateral friendship, he added.

Matsuda Hidekazu, Director of the Japanese-based company GoWell which supplies Asian workers for local businesses, said since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the number of Vietnamese people seeking advice from his company has increased dramatically, reaching nearly 1,900.

GoWell will try to offer best support possible for foreign students, including Vietnamese, to find good employment.

As planned, Kishida will visit three Southeast Asian and two European nations, starting with Indonesia on April 29 and 30. After Indonesia, he will be in Vietnam on April 30 and May 1, before traveling to Thailand, Italy and the UK./.