Hanoi (VNA) - Objective, fact-based reporting is critical not only for Vietnam’s peace and security but also for global stability, according to Nakamura Goro, a prominent Japanese photojournalist with decades of ties to Vietnam.
Since 1961, Nakamura has trained his camera on the Vietnam War, capturing the scars left by Agent Orange, the chemical defoliant deployed by US troops. In a recent interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on the occasion of its 80th founding anniversary (September 15), he recounted the bravery of its journalists, including their support during a 1979 assignment in Lang Son, where he witnessed their resilience firsthand.
Nakamura’s reflections on VNA’s operations during the 1960s and 1970s evoked a time when its journalists worked under the relentless threat of US bombing raids in North Vietnam. Yet, undeterred, they ventured south to the Liberation News Agency, delivering accurate accounts of the war’s toll and exposing US military atrocities. Their stories, Nakamura observed, rippled far beyond Vietnam’s borders, resonating globally.
Recounting VNA’s wartime brotherhood, especially when VNA reporter Bui Thanh shielded him during a US bombing raid, he said that’s the kind of backup VNA offered to foreign counterparts, many of whom were in Vietnam briefly, he said.
Back in the late 1960s, Japanese newsrooms were starving for updates from Vietnam, leaning hard on the Japan Press Service, which received telegrams straight from VNA in Tokyo, Nakamura said.
In Vietnam’s postwar era of reform and nation-building, journalism remains vital, Nakamura said. VNA’s extensive network of bureaus has seeded ideas for development, driving national progress through reliable reporting. The agency has consistently provided accurate, objective information, fulfilling its role as Vietnam’s state news outlet, Nakamura said. In recent years, VNA has embraced modernisation and innovated its coverage, especially through digital platforms.
Nakamura saw potential in digital tools, including artificial intelligence, to enhance VNA’s creativity. The challenge, he said, is how to deploy and control these technologies effectively.
On the global stage, VNA has maintained robust ties with foreign partners, fostering understanding and collaboration. This “self-reliance,” a hallmark of VNA since wartime, remains a critical asset, he noted.
Reflecting on Vietnam’s history of resistance against French and US forces, Nakamura stressed the superiority of peaceful diplomacy, underpinned by accurate reporting, over armed confrontation. Within that process, VNA’s role in supplying accurate information has been indispensable. Providing factual news, he said, holds enormous significance for the country and people and may even determine a nation’s destiny.
Looking forward, Nakamura urged today’s journalists to draw inspiration from the courage of VNA’s wartime correspondents while adopting advanced technologies to meet the demands of the new era./.
