At the beginning of the meeting, Ambassador Ito Naoki respectfully congratulated Minister Lam Thi Phuong Thanh on being entrusted with her new position by the Government, and expressed his deep belief that the cooperation in culture, sports and tourism between the two countries will continue to achieve strong breakthroughs. The Ambassador also happily announced the successful official visit to Vietnam by the Japanese Prime Minister in early May, considering it an important impetus for both sides to realize high-level commitments in the future.
Deputy Director of the Viet Nam Sports Authority, Le Thi Hoang Yen, also attended the reception
In response to Ambassador Ito Naoki, Minister Lam Thi Phuong Thanh affirmed that Vietnam always cherishes and learns from the humanistic values, self-reliance, and unique traditional identity of the Japanese people. The Minister highly appreciated the Ambassador's companionship, especially his meaningful presence at Vietnam National Day and throughout the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's participation in the EXPO 2025 World Exhibition in Osaka. Since the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World in 2023, cultural and artistic exchanges and people-to-people exchanges from the central to local levels have been extremely vibrant, bringing tangible benefits to both nations.
In the overall picture of bilateral relations, the field of sports has become a prominent highlight with many specific action programs. Minister Lam Thi Phuong Thanh expressed her appreciation and high regard for the valuable support from Japan in recent years for the training and development of Vietnamese officials, teachers, coaches, and athletes in a number of key sports such as Karate, Judo, Football, Volleyball, Swimming, and Gymnastics. This partnership is an important springboard helping Vietnamese sports affirm its position on the international stage.
Mr. Ito Naoki, Ambassador of Japan to Vietnam
In order to prepare thoroughly for the major goals ahead, especially the Asian Games (ASIAD 20) and the Asian Para Games in 2026, the Minister proposed that Japan continue to support Vietnam in athlete training and short-term professional training. Besides maintaining and developing traditional strengths such as Judo and Swimming, Vietnam hopes that Japan will send experts to train and transfer experience in new trending sports, including eSports and the rapidly developing sport of Pickleball.
The cooperation between the two countries goes beyond high-performance sports; it also aims for sustainable humanitarian values through the development of community sports. Both sides agreed to prioritize the implementation of practical social welfare programs, notably drowning prevention activities for children and women, and to actively promote multilateral sports cooperation projects within the framework of ASEAN-Japan cooperation. Simultaneously, Ambassador Ito Naoki also expressed his desire for close cooperation to expedite the plan to organize a meaningful friendly match between the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and Kawasaki Frontale Club, thereby further strengthening the spirit of friendship between sports fans of the two countries.
Minister Lam Thi Phuong Thanh received and held a working meeting with Mr. Ito Naoki, the Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam.
Besides sports, the Minister and the Ambassador spent considerable time discussing the development direction of the digital cultural industry. In the context of Vietnam's Politburo Resolution No. 80, which aims to enhance national "soft" power, and Japan's consideration of content industries such as manga and anime as key strategic areas, Minister Lam Thi Phuong Thanh proposed promoting exchanges between the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and relevant Japanese agencies such as the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The goal is to build a mechanism for protecting intellectual property rights, exchanging digital products, and facilitating direct connections between the Vietnam Multimedia Communications Corporation (VTC) and leading technology corporations such as Sony, Nintendo, and Konami. Regarding the issue of copyright infringement on the internet discussed by the Ambassador, the Minister affirmed that this is a priority for Vietnam and has instructed the Copyright Office to proactively coordinate and propose cooperation plans with Japan.
The meeting took place at the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Regarding the heritage sector, Japan plans to implement technical cooperation through the Nara Institute for Cultural Heritage Research to preserve and restore the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital relics in Ninh Binh province. Minister Lam Thi Phuong Thanh also affirmed that Vietnam shares the same viewpoint and will make every effort to support Japan. Japan has nominated the ancient capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara as World Heritage Sites at the 2026 session, and also welcomed the proposal to consider establishing a Vietnamese Cultural Center in Japan.
The close ties between the two countries are further vividly demonstrated by the breakthrough in the tourism industry, with total two-way visitors reaching nearly 1.5 million by 2025. In the first four months of 2026 alone, the number of Japanese visitors to Vietnam reached 309,125, a growth of over 110% compared to the same period last year. This impressive result is largely due to the inclusion of Vietnam in the list of 24 destinations benefiting from the Japanese government's policy of encouraging overseas travel by citizens, courtesy of the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) and the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA). To maintain this growth momentum, both sides agreed to continue operating the bilateral tourism cooperation committee meeting mechanism, coordinate at major trade fairs such as JATA, VITM, ITE-HCMC, and encourage the opening of more direct flights.
In particular, in the context of Vietnam's planned amendments to the Tourism Law and the Tourism Development Support Fund model in 2026, the Minister requested the Japanese side to actively share experiences on the effective public-private partnership model of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO).
Overview of the meeting with the Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam on the afternoon of May 27th
With high consensus, Minister Lam Thi Phuong Thanh and Ambassador Ito Naoki both believe that the realization of comprehensive proposals in all areas of management of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will contribute to strengthening cooperation, deepening the Vietnam-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and yielding more tangible results.
Ha Phuong