Da Nang (VNA) - The Vietnam-Japan Festival 2025, the tenth of its kind, kicked off in the central city of Da Nang on July 4 evening, featuring a series of activities, including art performances, culture and tourism exhibitions, and culinary showcase.

This annual cultural diplomacy event aims to promote exchange and mutual understanding, tighten the friendship between the peoples of Vietnam and Japan. Initiated in 2014, the event has become an important bridge fostering cooperation between Da Nang and Japanese localities and partners.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Nguyen Thi Anh Thi, Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Committee and Head of the Festival’s organising committee, noted that 2025 marks 10 years of this iconic event.

This year’s festival is especially significant as it takes place following the merger of Da Nang city and Quang Nam province into the new Da Nang city on July 1, 2025, Thi said, adding that the merger presents new development opportunities and is expected to elevate the scale of the festival in the coming years.

The event, lasting to July 7, also includes sports exchanges, seminars, and business matching events to foster cooperation between Vietnamese and Japanese enterprises and organisations. A key highlight of the festival is the conference themed “Japan Meeting in Da Nang: Promoting Vietnam – Japan comprehensive strategic partnership."

The festival also offers a chance to promote Da Nang’s image in its new phase of development, while attracting investment, tourism, and promoting people-to-people exchanges.

Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Ito Naoki expressed his belief that the event will contribute to strengthening and expanding the friendship and cooperation between Japan and Da Nang, and Vietnam as a whole.

He noted that this year saw a larger number of participating Japanese businesses, organisations, and localities than in previous years, reflecting strong interest and high expectations for cooperation with Da Nang across sectors.

The Japanese diplomat took the occasion to announce the resumption of the Osaka and Da Nang direct air route operated by Vietnam Airlines, calling it a positive signal for promoting people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

He said Da Nang is currently home to nearly 300 Japanese investment projects worth 1.2 billion USD. He added that the newly established Da Nang Free Trade Zone is expected to further boost bilateral economic cooperation in the time to come./.