According to the Bluebook, Vietnam occupies a key geopolitical location, bordering vital maritime routes in the East Sea and sharing a long land border with China. With the third-largest population in Southeast Asia and a rapidly expanding middle-income class, Vietnam is regarded as a highly promising market.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the trend of diversifying supply chains has prompted many foreign companies, including Japanese firms, to relocate their production bases to Vietnam. The country aims to become a developed nation by 2045 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, while actively promoting green transformation (GX) and digital transformation (DX). Vietnam is also working to maintain stable economic growth through macroeconomic stabilization, inflation control, foreign investment attraction via infrastructure development, and improvements to the investment climate.

The Bluebook noted that Vietnam’s economic growth dropped to around 2% during 2020–2021 due to strict lockdown measures to curb COVID-19. However, the economy rebounded strongly, with growth reaching 8.02% in 2022 and 5.05% in 2023.

Japan and Vietnam established diplomatic relations on September 21, 1973. In celebration of the 50th anniversary in 2023, the two countries elevated their ties to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World,” with over 500 commemorative events held in both nations. High-level exchanges have continued steadily under this new partnership framework.

In 2024, high-level delegation exchange remained active. In August, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son visited Japan and co-chaired the meeting of the Vietnam–Japan Cooperation Committee and a ministerial meeting with then-Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko. The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation in various areas, including economics, people-to-people and locality-to-locality exchange, and security.

In September 2024, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Komura Masahiro visited Vietnam and attended an international forum hosted by Ho Chi Minh City. Later, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in October, and President Luong Cuong at the APEC Summit in November. These meetings reaffirmed the two countries’ commitment to expanding cooperation across a variety of fields, including security.

In December 2024, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man visited Japan and held talks with Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan  Nukaga Fukushiro and President of the House of Councillors  Sekiguchi Masakazu, where both sides emphasized the importance of enhancing people-to-people exchanges.

Regarding the Vietnamese community in Japan, the Bluebook highlighted a steady increase in the number of Vietnamese nationals, mainly technical interns, from about 40,000 in 2011 to over 600,000 by the end of June 2024, making them the second-largest foreign community in Japan after the Chinese.

State President receives former Special Ambassador for Vietnam – Japan

State President Luong Cuong welcomed former Special Ambassador for Vietnam – Japan Sugi Ryotaro in Hanoi on March 20, expressing deep appreciation for his guest's decades-long contributions to bilateral ties.