Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu said that along with the strong and rapid development of the Vietnam - Japan friendship and cooperation in recent times, the Vietnamese community in Japan has also grown steadily, currently reaching more than 600,000 people, the largest foreign labor force in Japan and the second largest overseas Vietnamese community in the world.
The Vietnamese community in Japan is a young community, actively participating and increasingly making important contributions to the Japanese socio-economy in the context of an aging Japanese society, low birth rate, and severe labor shortage. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio affirmed: "Vietnamese human resources are an indispensable presence in the socio-economic development process of Japan".
Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu said that the work of developing the Vietnamese community in Japan has been carried out systematically, passed down through many generations, and achieved many encouraging results. The Embassy always identifies the Vietnamese community in Japan as an important factor contributing to strengthening the cooperative and friendly relations between the two countries.
To maximize the strength of the large Vietnamese community in Japan, the Embassy has been and will continue to promote three key tasks, including diversifying forms of community solidarity, developing and consolidating associations with the motto "unity is strength"; supporting Vietnamese associations to promote creativity in organizing local cultural, sports and festival activities with the motto "people-centered"; promoting the core and pioneering role of Vietnamese intellectuals and experts in Japan to promote exchanges and cooperation, especially in new strategic areas such as digital transformation, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and high technology.
The 7x and 8x generations of Vietnam went to Japan to study, received formal training from university, master's, and doctorate, then continued to do research work and now hold important positions such as professor, associate professor, and head of research labs in prestigious universities, research institutes, and leading large enterprises in Japan.
According to Japanese data, there are currently about 150 Vietnamese researchers classified by Japan as "highly qualified foreign researchers". Among them, many are professors and associate professors at Japanese universities.
With their current position and status, Vietnamese experts and intellectuals have the opportunity to actively contribute to the locality and towards their homeland. For example, the IT and software industry in Japan is very developed, led by FPT and hundreds of Vietnamese companies, with a revenue of about 700 million USD/year, actively contributing to Japan's digital transformation. The Embassy has led and promoted the establishment of the Vietnam - Japan Digital Transformation Association on July 7, 2024, promoting innovation, technology transfer, training high-quality engineers in Japan, cooperating with Japanese enterprises in the semiconductor sector, bringing Vietnam deeper into the global supply chain in the future.
Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu pointed out that in the coming time, Japan will continue its open-door policy, facilitating the reception of foreign human resources by passing a new law on foreign labor reception (June 2024). It is expected that Japan will have a shortage of millions of workers by 2030, including in high-tech and technical industries such as IT, AI, and semiconductors. Vietnamese human resources are highly appreciated by Japan, and it is expected to continue to approach them.
The Ambassador affirmed that the Vietnamese community in Japan will continue to develop, playing an increasingly active and important role in the Japanese economy.
