The 8th Vietnam-Japan Festival opened in Da Nang on Thursday to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Vice-chairman of the local People’s Committee Ho Ky Minh said the cooperation between Da Nang and Japanese localities has developed constantly over the past few years, becoming a bright spot in the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Japan.

Da Nang has cooperated with 20 localities in Japan and has established friendly and cooperative relations with four cities—Kawasaki, Sakai, Yokohama, and Kisarazu, with many cooperation programs producing practical results.

Minh affirmed that Japan is always one of the leading partners of Da Nang City.

There have been more than 222 Japanese enterprises, representative offices, and projects in the city with a total foreign direct investment of over US$1 billion.

Japanese-invested projects have significantly contributed to Da Nang’s socio-economic development through technology transfer, manpower training, and competitiveness enhancement.

The closeness of the peoples of the two countries has helped foster their economic, cultural, and social cooperation as well as people-to-people exchanges, according to the Da Nang official.

Minh said the support of the peoples of the two countries will fuel the development of their diplomatic relations and economic collaboration.

The Vietnam-Japan Festival, which was first held in 2014, has become an annual cultural event for Da Nang residents, tourists as well as Japanese people living in the central Vietnamese city.

The festival this year, which will close on Sunday, features 80 booths of large domestic and foreign brands, introducing culture, cuisine, education, tourism, and sports services as well as investment and trade promotion programs.

Yamada Takio, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam, informed that the booth of the Consulate General of Japan in Da Nang will introduce diversified programs to celebrate 50 years of the two countries’ diplomatic relations, including an opera performance themed 'Princess Anio' featuring a love story of Princess Ngoc Hoa from Quang Nam Province, a neighbor of Da Nang, and Araki Sotaro, a merchant from Japan’s Nagasaki, 400 years ago.

The festival also creates opportunities for locals and tourists in Da Nang to experience Japanese calligraphy, art of flower arrangement, and tea ceremony.

The event includes a session to provide information about studying in Japan, exhibitions, and seminars on tourism and economy.

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