The issue was discussed during separates meetings in Hue City on September 6 between Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung and Shimo Hiroshi, special advisor to Wakayama Prefecture, and Yamashita Makoto, governor of Nara Prefecture, on the sidelines of the Vietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum.

At the meetings, Trung highlighted local cooperation as an important channel for implementing commitments and agreements reached by the two countries’ senior leaders, while strengthening people-to-people ties.

Expanding investment, technology and human resource cooperation

Meeting with the official from Wakayama Prefecture, Minister Trung praised its positive cooperation with Vietnamese ministries, agencies and localities and encouraged the prefecture to expand partnerships with new Vietnamese counterparts.

He encouraged Wakayama businesses to increase investment, transfer technology and participate more deeply in supply chains in Vietnam, particularly in high-tech agriculture, food processing, supporting industries, green transition, digital transformation and innovation.

Alongside economic cooperation, Vietnam also hopes to strengthen human resource training and exchanges in tourism, culture and among the two peoples.

Special Advisor Shimo Hiroshi said Wakayama has carried out a range of cooperation activities with Vietnam in labour, agriculture and trade and expressed his desire to further expand connections with Vietnamese localities and businesses.

With Nara Prefecture, Minister Trung called for greater investment and business activities in Vietnam by local companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as stronger technology transfer and high-quality human resource training.

Priority areas include science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transition and sectors in which Nara has strengths.

Governor Yamashita Makoto affirmed that the Nara authorities attach importance to and wish to expand cooperation with Vietnam, by strengthening connections among the two sides’ governments, businesses and people.

Local ties create new channels for Vietnam-Japan cooperation

Drawing on cooperation with Wakayama and Nara, Minister Trung emphasised the role of local governments in making Vietnam-Japan relations more closely aligned with practical development needs.

For Wakayama, he said, Vietnam wants the prefecture to further serve as a bridge linking Vietnamese localities and businesses with Japanese partners. For Nara, the focus is on strengthening links among governments, businesses and people, thereby creating new channels for cooperation.

Support for the Vietnamese community in the two prefectures was also discussed at the meetings. The Foreign Minister thanked the Wakayama authorities for supporting the community of more than 2,200 Vietnamese residents in the prefecture and called on Nara to continue assisting more than 5,200 Vietnamese people living, studying and working there.

The Japanese politicians affirmed that they would continue supporting the Vietnamese community, contributing to greater mutual understanding and stronger people-to-people ties between the two countries.

Minister Trung affirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would continue working alongside Wakayama, Nara and Vietnamese localities to make local cooperation between the two countries more substantive and effective.

The connections forged at the 2026 Vietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum are expected to make local cooperation an increasingly important channel for translating the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership into practical outcomes.

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