Multiple activities such as water puppetry and Ao Dai (traditional long dress) performances within the ongoing “Vietnam Festa” in Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture are expected to help Japanese people understand more about the land and people of Vietnam.

This is the biggest Vietnamese festival in Japan jointly held by the Vietnamese Embassy and Kanagawa prefecture.

In his opening remarks on October 29, Kanagawa Governor Kuroiwa Yuji said the festival, in its second edition, is expected to break the record number of nearly 400,000 visitors reported in the first edition last year.

He underscored the need to enhance cultural exchange and mutual understanding between Vietnamese and Japanese people as the number of Vietnamese in Kanagawa is increasing rapidly.

Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong noted his hope that the festival will give residents of Kanagawa prefecture and Japanese in general an insight into the Southeast Asian nation.

It is also expected to bring Vietnamese closer to Kanagawa and motivate them to cooperate with the prefecture.

Of note, the Vietnamese Association in Japan set up a booth highlighting Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea.

Another booth was established enabling Japanese people and Vietnamese expats to raise fund for flood victims in Vietnam’s central region.

The festival will run until October 30.