Viet Nam-Japan culture festival underway in Can Tho

A performance at the opening ceremony of the third Viet Nam-Japan Culture and Trade Exchange in Can Tho city on November 3

The three-day event, co-organised by the Can Tho chapter of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Consulate General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City, is part of the activities to celebrate 45 years of Viet Nam-Japan diplomatic ties in 2018.

The festival offers an ideal platform to promote the beauty of the country and people of Japan to Can Tho citizens and vice versa, as well as to strengthen exchange activities between the two countries’ companies and attract more Japanese investment in the Mekong Delta region as a whole and Can Tho in particular, thus contributing to tightening the fine relationship between Viet Nam and Japan.

According to Deputy Director of VCCI Can Tho, Nguyen Phuong Lam, this year’s Viet Nam-Japan festival promises to be an interesting destination, accommodating a scale of 120 pavilions imbued with cultural and festive features of both Viet Nam and Japan, showcasing products of various types in an array of industries, including technology, electric machinery, household electric appliances, fashion, handicraft and fine arts, cosmetics and trade.

In addition, the programme also features unique performances by traditional and modern arts troupes coming from the two countries. Visitors will have a chance to enjoy artistic firework displays and moving films of Viet Nam and Japan, alongside learning Origami and the art of Japanese tea, dress themselves in a Kimono or Yukata, and disguise themselves as a Samurai or a Ninja.

Kazunori Hosoya, Deputy Consul General of Japan in HCM City, expressed his optimism about the outlook of the Viet Nam-Japan relationship, stating that the increasing number and efficiency of trade promotion and cultural exchange activities between the two countries are a vivid evidence for his belief.

In 2016, Viet Nam welcomed over 740,000 Japanese tourist arrivals, while Japan received around 230,000 Vietnamese visitors to the country.

In Can Tho alone, four Japanse-financed projects have been completed since 2013, with a total capital of more than 7 billion VND (308,000 USD).