A dance team join the annual Japanese-Vietnamese Culture Exchange Day at Đà Nẵng City's Đông Á University. More than 5,000 students participated in the event with different art performances and games. — Photo courtesy of Phương Chi

ĐÀ NẴNG — More than 5,000 students and visitors joined the annual Japanese-Vietnamese Culture Exchange Day in celebration of the 50th diplomatic ties of Japan and Việt Nam at the central city’s Đông Á University on March 9.

It’s one of a series of activities organised throughout the year in the city to mark the Japan-Việt Nam friendship and cultural cooperation.

Student groups staged traditional art performances of Việt Nam and Japan (Yasakoi dance and Taiko drum play) to the piano of the Japanese Keiko Borujeson, while fashion shows of áo dài (long dress), yukata and cosplay were displayed by Vietnamese and Japanese artists on the main stage.

Demonstrations of Japanese calligraphy, paintings, cuisine (Nagashi Somen–Japanese noodle at bamboo gut) at 12 pavilions and a folk dance competition drew participation from 38 teams.

Head of the Japanese General Consulate, Yakabe Yoshinori, said Đà Nẵng’s Đông Á University had early developed high-quality human resources for both technical knowledge and the Japanese language in the region.

He said internship programmes in Japan helped provide quality manpower for Japanese businesses.

A pavilion introduces Japanese and Vietnamese traditional culture at the Japan-Việt Nam Cultural Exchange Day in Đà Nẵng. The event marked the 50th diplomatic ties between Japan and Việt Nam in the city. Photo courtesy of Phương Chi

Yakabe Yoshinori also said the university introduced and promoted Japanese culture, building a trusting relationship with the Japanese General Consulate and the Japanese business community in Đà Nẵng.

During the Cultural Exchange Day, Japanese businesses successfully recruited 500 qualified students working in Japan, and five more partners from Japan inked agreements on human training with the university.

The Việt Nam-Japan Cultural and Sports Exchange Association (Favija) also presented a scholarship for a 10-day life experience tour in Japan for the winner of the Japanese language contest in 2022.

Đà Nẵng is seen as a favourite rendezvous of art troupes and artists from Sakai, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Kisarazu, Mimasaka, Nagasaki and Kushiro in Japan at the annual Việt Nam-Japan Culture Exchange since 2014. — VNS