On the morning of September 6, in Hue city, as part of the second Vietnam - Japan Local Cooperation Forum, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung held a meeting with representatives of Japanese businesses operating in Viet Nam.

Also attending the meeting were Politburo member and Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung; Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Dang Xuan Phong; Minister of Science and Technology Vu Hai Quan; leaders of Vietnamese ministries, sectors, central agencies and localities; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Viet Nam Ito Naoki; and representatives of Japanese economic organizations and leading businesses in key sectors.

In a serious, candid, responsible and constructive spirit, Japanese businesses openly exchanged views and provided specific information on their investment, production and business activities; identified difficulties, obstacles and their causes; and raised issues, proposals and recommendations requiring resolution by the Government, ministries, sectors and localities. Leaders of Vietnamese ministries, sectors and localities responded specifically to the proposals in a receptive and responsible manner.

According to reports and opinions presented at the meeting, two-way trade between Viet Nam and Japan reached USD 33.7 billion in the first seven months of 2026, up more than 16.8% from the same period in 2025. Of this, Viet Nam’s exports to Japan reached approximately USD 17.6 billion, up 16.6%, while imports from Japan totaled around USD 16.1 billion, up 17.0%.

Japan has for many years remained among the top three groups of foreign investors in Viet Nam. As of the end of July 2026, the cumulative registered investment capital of Japanese investors, including newly registered and adjusted capital, reached approximately USD 80.3 billion, ranking third among 153 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam. Japan is also Viet Nam’s largest ODA donor, with cumulative ODA loans totaling nearly JPY 3 trillion.

Chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Viet Nam (JCCI) Tsuchibashi Akito affirmed that Japanese businesses highly value Viet Nam’s stability and development potential and will continue making long-term investments in the country in the coming period. The Japanese side welcomed Viet Nam’s direction in attracting and supporting foreign investment through amendments to the Investment Law in line with Resolution No. 10 of the Political Bureau.

“We are committed to accompanying the modernization of Viet Nam’s industries and hope to develop together through ‘co-creation’ between Viet Nam and Japan,” Tsuchibashi Akito said. Ambassador Ito Naoki also emphasized Japan’s strong determination to always play the role of Viet Nam’s best partner in the new era - the era of national advancement.

Resolving legitimate recommendations thoroughly

At the meeting, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung broadly agreed with and highly appreciated the opinions raised, saying the exchanges continued to demonstrate the trust, close ties and spirit of partnership between the Government, ministries, sectors and localities of Viet Nam and the Japanese business community.

The Prime Minister said Viet Nam is entering a new development period that requires rapid and sustainable growth, with science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, and improvements in productivity and economic competitiveness serving as foundations.

To successfully achieve the two centennial goals and pursue its determination to maintain double-digit growth during 2026-2030, Viet Nam aims to promote the synchronized and effective role of all economic sectors, with the foreign-invested economic sector constituting an important component of the national economy.

In this spirit, Resolution No.10-NQ/TW dated June 8, 2026 of the Political Bureau sets out orientations for selectively attracting high-quality FDI projects featuring advanced technologies, high added value, strong spillover effects and close linkages with domestic businesses. Viet Nam seeks not only to attract investment capital but also advanced technologies, knowledge, modern management practices, research and development (R&D) investment, high-quality human resources, and substantive linkages with domestic businesses. The Prime Minister expressed his hope that Japanese businesses, with their experience, resources and reputation, would make active contributions to these goals.

According to the Prime Minister, since the two countries upgraded their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World in 2023, Viet Nam-Japan relations have entered a new phase of development, becoming increasingly extensive, substantive and effective. Economic, trade and investment cooperation remains one of the most important pillars, while the trade structure between the two countries has maintained a stable balance and a high degree of complementarity.

At the meeting, the Japanese side raised nine groups of issues related to transportation, education, energy, taxation, science and technology, and retail. Many of these issues have been directly addressed by Government leaders and actively handled by ministries and sectors, but some obstacles have yet to be fully resolved.

Directing agencies to address recommendations from Japanese businesses, the Prime Minister asked ministries, sectors and localities to urgently review the progress of implementation and proactively resolve, within their authority, outstanding issues in a timely manner according to specific roadmaps, with a spirit of partnership and service, an open attitude, and the highest sense of responsibility.

The Prime Minister requested that responses and updates on the handling of recommendations be sent to the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) to coordinate with the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Viet Nam and businesses in reviewing and assessing the resolution of the issues. For recommendations that remain unresolved or newly arise, VCCI will continue to compile them and submit them to competent authorities for consideration and resolution. Agencies are to compile and publicly disclose the results of handling the recommendations on the Government Portal and relevant electronic information portals, ensuring transparency, clarity and ease of monitoring.

The Prime Minister emphasized the overarching principle: Issues falling within the authority of a particular level must be proactively resolved by that level on schedule; where regulations already exist, clear guidance must be provided; if regulations are no longer appropriate to practical conditions, amendments must be studied; and issues beyond the authority of an agency must be promptly reported to the competent authority for direction.

At the same time, the Prime Minister asked Japanese agencies and businesses to continue actively exchanging and engaging in dialogue with Vietnamese agencies and businesses to share and clarify difficulties and recommendations and reach agreement on solutions to thoroughly resolve outstanding issues in cooperation, in a receptive, constructive and candid spirit.

Not only cooperation but also partnership for joint development

The Prime Minister said Japan has strengths in technology, capital, management experience, high-quality human resources, and, particularly, a business culture that values quality, credibility and long-term partnerships. These are highly important factors that align well with Viet Nam’s development orientations for the coming period.

The Prime Minister expressed his hope that the Japanese business community would continue to trust and choose Viet Nam and work together with Viet Nam toward long-term, sustainable and prosperous development, while continuing to expand investment in Viet Nam and closely coordinate with Vietnamese businesses to better tap the potential and room for cooperation between the two economies.

In the coming period, the Prime Minister asked businesses from both countries to closely follow the major cooperation orientations agreed upon by the two countries’ senior leaders. Japan will continue to support and promote next-generation ODA with greater scale and effectiveness and more streamlined procedures, focusing on priority areas such as high-tech agriculture, strategic infrastructure, urban railways and high-speed railways, green transformation, energy transition, digital transformation, science and technology, innovation, the semiconductor industry, and high-quality human resource training.

Japanese businesses are expected to strengthen linkages with Vietnamese businesses, support domestic enterprises in improving their management capacity, technology and production standards, and create conditions for Vietnamese businesses to participate more deeply in the supply chains of Japanese corporations, with the spirit of not only cooperating but also accompanying each other in development.

The Prime Minister also called for Vietnam-Japan investment ties to shift decisively from a relationship between “investors and investment destinations” toward a partnership for joint development and co-creation, involving joint research, innovation, production, and effective participation in and affirmation of their positions and roles in global value chains.

Alongside this, the two sides should step up cooperation in science and technology, innovation and digital transformation, and support high-quality human resource training to build a comprehensive ecosystem that helps businesses improve their competitiveness and facilitates technology transfer. They should also promote cooperation, mergers and acquisitions among small and medium-sized enterprises of the two countries so that they can participate more deeply in global value chains and supply chains.

The Prime Minister affirmed that the Vietnamese Government is committed to continuing to listen to and accompany businesses, take action, coordinate and provide support, while building a stable, transparent, equal, safe and highly predictable investment and business environment. Viet Nam will continue to reform and reduce administrative procedures and business conditions, improve institutions, develop infrastructure and human resources, cut compliance time and costs, and protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of investors, including Japanese investors.

Viet Nam is continuing to pursue strong institutional reforms and improve the legal framework toward greater transparency, clarity, predictability and alignment with international standards. During this process, certain obstacles may arise, and the Prime Minister called on Japanese businesses to actively contribute their opinions to draft policies.

Alongside this, the Prime Minister called for further promotion of regular and periodic dialogue mechanisms and assigned the Ministry of Finance to continue coordinating with ministries, sectors, agencies and localities to work with investors in specific fields and on specialized issues. “We are committed to seeing legitimate recommendations through to the end, while establishing mechanisms for dialogue to help all sides clearly understand and uniformly and consistently implement regulations,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

The Government leader expressed his belief that, on the foundation of sincere and trusted relations between the two countries, with the determination of the two Governments and the dynamism and creativity of the business communities, Viet Nam-Japan economic, trade and investment cooperation will continue to develop strongly, substantively and effectively, in a manner commensurate with the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the world.