Vietnam Festival in Kanagawa 2025: A cultural bridge and cooperation between Vietnam and Japan

VOV.VN - On September 13, in the port city of Yokohama, Japan, the Vietnam Festival in Kanagawa officially opened amid the expectations of local residents and the Vietnamese community.

The Vietnam Festival in Kanagawa is an annual event hosted by Kanagawa Prefecture in coordination with the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, which began in 2015 at the initiative of Kanagawa Governor Kuroiwa Yuji, aiming to deepen relations with Vietnam and the local Vietnamese community. Attending the opening ceremony this year, in addition to Governor Kuroiwa and representatives of Kanawaga Prefecture agencies, there were also Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu and Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong.

Vietnamese water puppetry attracts a large number of viewers

Speaking here, Mr. Kuroiwa emphasized that the Vietnam Festival in Kanagawa not only contributes to strengthening cultural exchanges, deepening mutual understanding between the two sides, but also creates momentum to promote economic and human resource cooperation, making a great contribution to the development of Kanagawa. “If in 2015, when the Festival was first held, the number of Vietnamese enterprises investing in Kanagawa was zero, now there are 21 companies. On the contrary, thanks to the support, encouragement, assistance and facilitation of the government, there are 32 Kanagawa enterprises doing business in Vietnam. The number of Vietnamese people living, studying and working in Kanagawa has also increased from 10,000 to more than 40,000 and has become an important resource for the locality,” Mr. Kuroiwa shared.

Governor Kuroiwa particularly emphasized the appeal of Vietnamese water puppetry

For his part, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam Ho An Phong emphasized the good feelings that Vietnamese people have for Kanagawa in particular and Japan in general, and believed that the friendly and cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Japan will continue to develop more strongly in the future. Meanwhile, Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu assessed the Vietnam Festival in Kanagawa from a different perspective: “It can be said that the Vietnam Festival in Kanagawa has become a meeting point, a cultural bridge and the most anticipated cultural event for both Vietnamese and Japanese people in Japan. Through events like this, we believe that we will have 40,000 cultural ambassadors spreading the best cultural values ​​of Vietnam to Kanagawa in particular and Japan in general”.

Governor Kuroiwa, Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong (from right to left) at the Opening Ceremony

This year's festival brings to the public the charm of Vietnam based on the three main pillars of "cuisine", "tradition" and "culture". The presence of the Vietnam Puppetry Theatre with its unique water puppetry performances also creates an important highlight for the Festival. It is expected that in the 2 days of the event, the event will attract about 100,000 participants.

Right from the opening, the Festival has attracted thousands of tourists and local residents

The Festival is expected to attract about 100,000 participants

Traditional Vietnamese music performances are also a highlight of the Festival