The meeting between the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Environment the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in Tokyo. VNA/VNS Photo

TOKYO — Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Environment Trịnh Việt Hùng and Japanese Minister of the Environment Sasagawa Hiroyoshi witnessed the exchange of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on environment cooperation between the two ministries in Tokyo on Monday.

The exchange was part of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and President Tô Lâm’s official visit to Japan from November 8-11.

The MoU is expected to open the door to environmental technology, carbon market and circular economy cooperation and support Việt Nam’s green transition.

It sets eight priority areas. They include emissions cuts and climate change adaptation; low-carbon technology, carbon markets and the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on climate change; waste management, recycling, and circular economy development; and control of water, air and plastic pollution. Cooperation also covers monitoring and early warning, environmental planning, sustainable urban development, biodiversity conservation and natural resource management.

To realise them, the two ministries will run policy dialogues, expert exchanges, human resources training, feasibility studies and technology transfer. The aim is to pull companies and research institutes from both countries into environmental projects, particularly in areas where Việt Nam needs capital and technology.

In Tokyo, Hùng held talks with Sasagawa and co-chaired the Việt Nam-Japan Environmental Policy Dialogue with State Minister of the Environment Azemoto Shogo. Both sides cited progress in JCM, greenhouse gas inventories, waste treatment, waste-to-energy and e-waste management, and agreed to push carbon markets, circular economy and pollution control.

Carbon credit projects in renewable energy, waste treatment and low-emission agriculture are a priority, tied to completing JCM rules under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. The two sides also discussed strengthening the use of AI and remote sensing for environmental monitoring, thus improving management and supporting sustainable production.

Hùng asked Japan to transfer post-harvest rice straw treatment technology. Việt Nam generates about 61 million tonnes of rice straw a year, nearly half in the Mekong Delta. Technology to recover energy and handle combustion ash and slag could turn a waste stream into value, cut pollution and lift economic value in farming.

The cooperation push extends to the marine economy. At the Việt Nam-Japan Marine Policy Dialogue in Tokyo, Hùng and Japanese Minister of State for Ocean Policy Furukawa Toshiharu looked into managing and tapping marine resources and developing the ocean economy sustainably.

The two sides signed a MoU on marine and ocean policy covering marine spatial planning and governance, scientific research, ecosystem conservation, environment protection and sustainable resource use.

For 2026-2030, Việt Nam proposed joint work on ocean databases and digital maps, AI for marine management, deep sea surveys, marine resource and blue carbon research, ocean waste control and oil spill response.

Offshore renewable energy surveys and business-to-business links in offshore wind are another focus. Japan brings technology and management experience while Việt Nam has demand for new power sources to support growth and energy transition.

On agriculture, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Environment delegation met Yamanashi prefecture’s authorities and companies to push hi-tech farming and expand farm produce trade. In talks with Governor Nagasaki Kotaro, they agreed to boost agricultural trade, plant variety research, technology transfer and training.

A key result was a consensus to prioritise completing market access procedures for Vietnamese pomelos and Japanese grapes, targeting each other’s markets in the 2027 crop. Next in line are Vietnamese passion fruits and Japanese peaches, which could diversify supply and widen market access for agribusinesses.

Việt Nam also suggested Yamanashi share know-how in hi-tech greenhouses, farming on sloping and acid sulfate soils, processing and preservation, watershed-forest management and disaster prevention. The cooperation is expected to boost yields, improve quality and increase the added value of Vietnamese agricultural products.

In Yamanashi, about 60 delegates from regulators and companies attended the Việt Nam-Yamanashi agro-forestry-fishery trade conference. Participants used the event to study import rules, share market insight and meet partners.

Beyond grapes, peaches, green-skinned pomelo and passion fruit, companies showed interest in coffee, rice, matcha and higher-value farm produce. VNA/VNS