Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam Ito Naoki joined the opening ceremony of the annual Việt Nam-Japan Festival 2026 in Đà Nẵng City. The event is organising at Biển Đông (East Sea) Park from July 9-12. — Photos courtesy of Lê Lâm

ĐÀ NẴNG — A series of art performance and cultural exchanges, tourism promotion and sport events were organised in the annual Việt Nam-Japan Festival 2026, fostering future-oriented partnerships of the two countries on July 9-12.

The event organisers said the Meet Japan 2026 was a rendezvous for local governments, businesses, and partners from Việt Nam, Đà Nẵng and Japan to explore opportunities of co-operation and investment in high-tech industries, innovation, digital transformation, and human resources development.

Japanese and Vietnamese students participate in the Việt Nam-Japan Festival 2026 in Đà Nẵng City.

It’s one of the key cultural events in Đà Nẵng with an aim of boosting stronger local partnerships, cultural and tourism exchanges, and people-to-people diplomacy, laying a solid foundation for sustainable co-operation between Đà Nẵng and Japan.

The centre for International Co-operation and Foreign Affairs Service (CIFA) said two world Judo gold medalists from Japan – Tachimoto Megumi and Nakamura Misato – joined talks with local fans during the festival at the Biển Đông (East Sea) Park.

Taiko drum is set up at East Sea Park during the Việt Nam-Japan Festival 2026. Japanese artists played Bon Odori dance in echo of Taiko drum with folk art performances of Việt Nam.

The festival also involved random dance V-JPop, Cosplay contest, a friendly match of SHB Đà Nẵng and J-League Kawasaki Frontale, Japanese and Vietnamese cuisine & cultural experiences, martial arts demonstrations, traditional games, baseball experience and other exciting activities on the beach of Đà Nẵng during day and night time.

Vietnamese and Japanese artists stage art performance at the annual Việt Nam-Japan Festival 2026 in Đà Nẵng City. The festival involved a series of cultural exchanges on July 9-12.

Bon Odori dance in echo of Taiko drum with folk art performances of Việt Nam was included in the festival.

Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam Ito Naoki also joined the festival.

Đà Nẵng City alone had inked Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Kawasaki, Sakai, Yokohama, Mimasaka (Okayama Prefecture) and Kisarazu (Chiba Prefecture).

The festival will close on July 12. — VNS