The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is the third institution to receive gifts from Prof. Kaneko, following the Korea National Museum (the Republic of Korea) and the Kyushu National Museum (Japan) in 2004 and 2005.

"My philosophy is that nowadays, Asian people must understand Asian people better, and that Asian museums of the 21st century must display cultures of not only their own nations, but also other Asian countries," the Prof. said.

After visiting many countries in the world over the past 40 years, the professor affirmed "the 21st century will be the Asian age", and "Vietnam will be one of the leaders in the new age."

The Japanese professor said he is impressed by the fact that the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is preparing to present Asian cultures and that they will construct a new building dedicated to this task. He appreciated this effort by the museum and was delighted to enhance mutual understanding and cultural exchanges among Asian peoples.

Among the objects donated to the Museum are lacquer articles of Myanmar, Japanese pottery, Korean costumes, and Indonesian religious exhibits, which reflects the professor's interest in things made of natural materials, using skills honed over the ages, that  are steeped in the wisdom of the local people.