TOKYO - The Việt Nam Festival in Japan 2024 opened at Yoyogi park in Tokyo with art and cultural performances and over 130 booths showcasing typical Vietnamese products.

Delegates at the opening ceremony of the festival. VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Tuân

Over the past 15 years, the festival has become the largest cultural event most awaited by the Vietnamese community in Japan and local residents.

The opening ceremony saw the attendance of former Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo, Chief Representative of the Komeito party Yamaguchi Natsuo, and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Masahito Moriyama, along with Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Phạm Quang Hiệu, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Thi Thuy, representatives from associations, among others.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Hiệuhighlighted that the annual Việt Nam festival in Yoyogi park has become Việt Nam's cultural brand in Japan. He hoped that friendly exchange activities like the festival will help promote cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchange as well strengthen trust and mutual understanding between Việt Nam and Japan.

For his part, Minister Masahito Moriyama highly valued the efforts of the festival’s organising board and the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan for successfully organising the festival over the past years.

He said his ministry will continue to coordinate with Vietnamese ministries and localities to further promote cooperation in fields and optimise the role of Vietnamese alumni in Japan.

In addition to more than 130 booths of Vietnamese and Japanese companies, organisations, and individuals, the two countries’ popular art troupes and bands performed at the event. In particular, residents of Tokyo and foreign tourists are very interested in the Vietnamese water puppet shows.

The festival which runs until June 2 is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors. VNA/VNS