This is Ishiba’s first visit to Vietnam since taking office, and the first by a Japanese Prime Minister following the upgrade of bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in November 2023.

The visit takes place at a time when the Vietnam-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is entering its second year, with continued comprehensive and substantial development across various fields. Political trust has been consistently strengthened through close exchanges and high-level visits, along with the effective implementation of dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, providing a solid foundation for further development of bilateral relations in the new context.

Vietnam and Japan officially established diplomatic relations on September 21, 1973. Over the past 52 years, bilateral ties have steadily expanded and deepened. In April 2002, the two countries established a Reliable, Long-term Stable Partnership, which evolved into a Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia in 2009 and, subsequently to an Extensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia in 2014. Most recently, in 2023, Vietnam and Japan elevated ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World, marking an unprecedented level of cooperation between the two countries.

Japan remains one of Vietnam’s leading economic partners. It is the largest ODA donor, the largest labour cooperation partner, the third largest investor, and the fourth largest tourism and trade partner. In 2024, two-way trade turnover reached US$46.2 billion, an increase of 2.7% compared to 2023.

As of March 31, 2025, Japan had 5,557 valid investment projects in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of US$78.6 billion, ranking third among countries and territories investing in Vietnam. In the first three months of 2025 alone, Japanese registered investment rose 20.6% year on year to US$1.13 billion into 77 newly licensed projects. Meanwhile, Vietnam has 126 valid investment projects in Japan, with a total registered capital of US$20.6 million.

Bilateral cooperation in emerging fields such as digital transformation, green transition, and artificial intelligence has been increasingly promoted, with concrete progress. The two sides have agreed on a list of 14 priority projects worth about US$20 billion in green energy development, including initiatives such as the construction of liquefied gas and biomass power plants in Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa, and Yen Bai.

Education and training represent a notable area of bilateral cooperation. Vietnam was the first country in the world to introduce Japanese language instruction at the lower secondary level in 2003 and the primary level in 2019. Meanwhile, Japan has been one of the largest donors to Vietnam’s education and training sector through ODA programmes. Many cooperation agreements have been signed between the two sides.

People-to-people ties have flourished, with approximately 630,000 Vietnamese living in Japan, 710,000 Japanese tourists visiting Vietnam annually, and around 170,000 Vietnamese students studying the Japanese language. Japan has also introduced new initiatives, such as the Employment for Skills Development programme, to enhance the working environment for Vietnamese workers.

Currently, there are more than 51,000 Vietnamese students in Japan. Japan has supported the upgrading of four Vietnamese universities to high-quality universities and is cooperating with Vietnam in establishing the Vietnam-Japan University, aiming to train high-quality human resources in science, technology, management, and services.

Vietnam and Japan closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Japan highly values Vietnam’s efforts in streamlining and restructuring its political system at both central and local levels and in achieving socio-economic development goals, laying a solid foundation for the country to enter a new era of national advancement and to realise its ambition of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045.

Ishiba’s visit aims to further consolidate political trust and promote bilateral cooperation across various sectors, including politics-diplomacy, national defense-security, economy, trade, investment, education-human resource development, agriculture, local cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges. It also seeks to boost practical cooperation in cutting-edge fields such as innovation, digital transformation, green transition, and semiconductors, thereby advancing the Vietnam-Japan relationship towards greater substance and effectiveness.

Japanese PM Shiregu Ishiba to begin Vietnam visit today

VOV.VN - Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his spouse is to begin two-day official visit to Vietnam on April 27 at the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse.