Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu Visits and Works in the Kyushu Region | Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Japan

Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu Visits and Works in the Kyushu Region

From March 26 to 29, 2025, Pham Quang Hieu, the Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan, visited four prefectures in Kyushu: Miyazaki, Oita, Kumamoto, and Saga, which are important gateways in the southwest of Japan. During his visit, the Ambassador met with the leaders of these prefectures, delivered speeches at symposiums, and exchanged views on promoting trade, attracting investment, enhancing local cooperation, and collaborating in labor, tourism, and science and technology. Accompanying Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu were the Vietnamese Consul General in Fukuoka, Vu Chi Mai, and the Presidents of the Digital Transformation Association of Vietnam in Japan and the Vietnam Trade and Investment Promotion Association in Kyushu.

At the meetings, the prefectural leaders warmly welcomed the Ambassador’s visit and expressed their appreciation for his taking the time to visit Kyushu. They emphasized that the prefectures value and are eager to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in general, as well as with specific localities in Vietnam. They also expressed their intention to visit Vietnam at a convenient time in the near future. They noted that the Vietnamese community, consisting of Vietnamese people living, studying, and working in the region, has become the largest foreign community in these prefectures. The leaders of the prefectures praised the contributions of Vietnamese workers to the local economy and society and stated that Vietnamese workers will continue to play an essential role in the future. Looking ahead, the prefectures are keen to accept more Vietnamese workers, not only in traditional fields such as manufacturing, construction, and agriculture, but also in new, high-tech areas.

Governor Kono Shunji of Miyazaki shared that Miyazaki and other Kyushu prefectures are actively promoting regional links, both from a governmental and financial perspective. He mentioned plans to make Kyushu a key semiconductor industrial hub in Japan and expressed interest in strengthening cooperation in training and welcoming Vietnamese semiconductor workers. He also hoped to establish direct flights between Miyazaki and Vietnam to promote two-way tourism and enhance sports cooperation, as the prefecture is strong in various sports. Governor Sato Kiichiro of Oita expressed his desire to increase the intake of Vietnamese students, organize cultural exchange activities between the Vietnamese community and Oita residents, and encourage high school students to participate in study tours to Vietnam. Governor Yamaguchi Yoshinori of Saga expressed his desire to welcome more Vietnamese people to live, study, and work in Saga to address the severe shortage of young people in the prefecture. He also instructed relevant departments to support the newly established Vietnamese Community Association in organizing the “Spring of Homeland” program in 2026 in Saga. On behalf of Governor Kimura Takashi, who was on a business trip, Vice Governor Takeuchi Shingi confirmed that Kumamoto is actively working to build a multicultural society and ensure a foreign workforce, having established a Steering Committee for Foreign Worker Support and a Foreign Consulting Support Center to address difficulties, improve the living environment, and support the Vietnamese community and foreign residents in the prefecture.

Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu thanked the leaders of the prefectures for their warm hospitality and the respectful reception extended to him, the Consul General, and the delegation. He extended an invitation to the prefectural leaders to lead business delegations to Vietnam, sign cooperation agreements with Vietnamese localities, and encourage local businesses to participate in large-scale exhibitions and trade fairs in Vietnam to boost investment cooperation in line with the vast potential of the prefectures. He also urged the prefectural leaders to create favorable conditions to retain Vietnamese workers and to develop policies and mechanisms to support training and improve their Japanese language skills to meet the high standards of the new labor training program, which is expected to be implemented in July 2027. Additionally, he called for support for the large group of Vietnamese IT businesses and engineers to start businesses and assist in the digital transformation efforts of the prefectures. The Ambassador encouraged local universities to expand scholarship programs and increase the intake of Vietnamese students. He also asked the prefectural leaders to support regular cultural and sports exchange activities for the Vietnamese community, particularly organizing the “Spring of Homeland” event in the prefectures. The Ambassador affirmed that the Embassy would always stand by and actively support the promotion of local exchanges and cooperation between established and developing local partnerships, such as Miyazaki-Nam Dinh, Miyazaki-Quang Ngai, Oita-Tuyen Quang, Kumamoto-Hai Duong, and other Vietnamese localities.

During the symposiums, Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu addressed questions regarding Vietnam's foreign policy, his hopes for promoting cooperation with Kyushu, supporting Kyushu in promoting its unique products in Vietnam, the potential for collaboration in semiconductor workforce development, assisting Vietnamese people in obtaining Japanese driving licenses, and the progress of the Long Thanh International Airport project.

The followings are pictures of the visit: