10th Japan-Việt Nam Festival in HCM City features a wide range of cultural activities. VNS Photo Việt Dũng

HCM CITY - Lovers of Japanese and Vietnamese culture are flocking to the 10th Japan-Việt Nam Festival in HCM City, held in District 1’s September 23 Park.

The annual festival that affirms Việt Nam and Japan’s friendship is held from March 8 to 9, featuring a wide range of activities that promote the rich culture of both countries, including musical shows, martial art performances, a Việt Nam - Japan friendship áo dài show, a mikoshi palanquin parade, a dragon dance, and others.

During the morning of March 8, huge crowds of people gathered at the festival, browsing at lively stalls, eating tasty dishes and donning colorful cosplays.

There are around 155 businesses selling traditional Japanese and Vietnamese snacks, merchandises and other products.

Visitors can also experience popular sports such as sumo and baseball with Japanese athletes.

Fans of Japanese media can enjoy cosplay shows, J-Pop music performances and play Japanese folk games.

There are also stalls that promote traditional Vietnamese áo dài, folk games and high quality agricultural products.

Visitors can enjoy many types of Japanese and Vietnamese dishes. VNS Photo Việt Dũng

​Nguyễn Vũ Anh, a Bình Thạnh District local, told Việt Nam News: “I look forward to this festival every year. I really like Japanese food and mangas so I have been having a great time here. Traditional performances like the calligraphy show at the opening ceremony and the parades were also really beautiful.”

As part of the festival, a “Friendship Bicycle” activity was organised, where officials from Việt Nam and Japan rode and take photos at iconic locations in HCM City, especially the city’s new metro line, a symbol of Việt Nam and Japan’s co-operation.

Nguyễn Văn Được, chairman of HCM City People’s Committee, said during the opening ceremony that the festival was first organised in 2013 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relation between the two countries, and since then it has been contributing towards strengthening the friendship between the two countries.

2025 is also the second year of the Việt Nam - Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which has opened up new cooperation opportunities in investment and cultural exchange.

The 9th festival last year attracted around 400,000 visitors.

According to Sugano Yuichi, Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Việt Nam, a sponsor of the event, the festival is one of the largest Việt Nam - Japan exchange event in Việt Nam, with this year having more stalls than the previous years.

A stall promoting the art of Vietnamese áo dài. VNS Photo Việt Dũng

​Promoting Japanese projects

JICA, the Japanese government arm that disburses ODA loans, set up a stall at the festival to promote some of its noteworthy projects in education, climate change, community development, and tourism.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Việt Nam promotes some of its projects in Việt Nam to visitors. Photo courtesy of JICA

JICA is investing in the Việt Nam Japan University to enhance its education, research and management quality in order to train high quality workforce for Việt Nam. Established in 2014, the university has around 1,100 undergraduate and post graduate students.

The university is inviting students to enroll in fields such as computer science, Japanese studies and smart agriculture.

It is also working with the Cần Thơ University to pilot a recirculating aquaculture for raising swamp eels, to help the eel farming industry in the Mekong Delta develop sustainably admist climate change.

Another project involves the recruitment of Japanese volunteers for tourism promotion and community development in areas such as Yên Bái, Nghệ An and An Giang.

To mark the tenth occasion of the Việt Nam - Japan Festival in HCM City, a HCM City Festival in Japan will be organised in Tokyo on November 1 to 2. - VNS