Prime Minister Le Minh Hung of Vietnam and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae review the guard of honour of the Vietnam People’s Army. (Vietnam News Agency)
Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae commenced her three-day visit to Hanoi on May 1 at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng. The visit aimed to expand and strengthen bilateral relations across economic, security and societal sectors.
On May 2, a summit was held in the Government’s Office. During the meeting, Lê Minh Hưng emphasised Vietnam and Japan’s close relations, underscored by their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). In return, Takaichi warmly congratulated Hưng on his appointment as the ninth Prime Minister of Vietnam and his five-year tenure, while describing the visit as a vital step towards accelerating the partnership.
The high-level talks produced detailed plans to develop the partnership. Politically, both countries agreed to expand their “substantive cooperation” in defence, maritime law, transnational crime and external affairs, with multiple ministries set to deepen engagements.
Economically, Japan pledged to invest 60 billion US dollars to bolster bilateral trade volume by 2030—as Takaichi praised Vietnam’s manufacturing industry, which has become “[an] indispensable supplier to the global market, forging an inseparable relationship with the Japanese economy as well.” Furthermore, Takaichi also reaffirmed Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) intersection with the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), highlighting Japan’s commitment to the regional mechanism. .
In addition, both leaders committed to exploring new priority areas for cooperation, such as the modern tech economy, digitalisation, green transformation, semiconductors and high-tech innovation. Vietnam planned to train 500 PhD researchers by 2030, with Japan set to host about half of the scientists through joint educational programs.
Cultural and societal bonds were also emphasised, as over 680,000 Vietnamese live in Japan, forming the country’s second‑largest foreign community.
To formalise the commitments, the meeting bred seven major cooperation agreements spanning from rural development and climate-adaptive infrastructure, with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as the main sponsor. Vietnam and Japan also signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) covering cooperation on the Joint Credit Mechanism on low‑carbon growth, technological and technical exchanges in the hydraulic sector as well as collaboration in information and communications technology (ICT) sectors.
Vietnam and Japan have been engaged in a cordial relationship for 53 years, subsequently elevating their cooperation to a CSP in 2023. To date, Japan is Vietnam’s number one ODA provider, top labour partner, third‑largest investor and fourth‑largest partner in tourism and trade.
Their bilateral trade amount reached 51,42 billion US dollars and rose by 12,7% in the first quarter of 2026, with projections of 60 billion US dollars by 2027. As of January 2026, Japan had 5,722 active projects worth 78.9 billion US dollars, ranking third among foreign investors.
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