According to Hirata Ken, Nagasaki prefecture’s deputy governor, in the early 17th century, Japan carried out trade exchanges with foreign countries, using a vessel named Chau An and Nagasaki port was the only port then allowed to carry out trade exchange. A trader, Mr. Araki Sotaro, increased trade exchanges with An Nam country (now Vietnam), through Chau An vessel.
Nagasaki prefecture’s deputy governor Hirata Ken (Photo: VOV)
To promote the fine history, in 2017, Nagasaki prefecture set up a friendly relationship with Quang Nam province, focusing on diverse cultural and human exchanges. During the APEC Summit held in Vietnam in November 2017, Nagasaki prefecture presented a model of Chau An vessel to Quang Nam province under the witness of Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. The model is now on display in a street in Hoi An ancient city.
According to Mr. Hirata Ken, Nagasaki prefecture regularly has exchange activities with Vietnam such as its participation in Hoi An-Japan Festival, Vietnam-Japan Cultural Exchange Festival in Da Nang every year, or activities promoting tourism, culture and education potential. In addition, the Japanese prefecture is also interested in promoting and encouraging Vietnamese students to study abroad in Nagasaki through opening language contests in the Japanese language and inviting excellent students to visit the prefecture.
In October 2019, Nagasaki prefecture signed a memorandum of understanding on human resource cooperation with Quang Nam province. Accordingly, the province both accepts Vietnamese interns and workers, and works with Vietnam's universities to train human resources in the field of nursing.
Moreover, towards the Tokyo Olympics scheduled to be held in 2021, the province has also received 7 Vietnamese sports delegations in athletics and swimming to train and interact with local students.
Talking about overseas Vietnamese in Nagasaki prefecture, Mr. Hirata Ken said that there are about 2,700 Vietnamese people, including 180 students, in the prefecture. “The number of Vietnamese is the largest among foreigners living and studying in the province, who work in different fields such as manufacturing, agriculture, hotels and restaurants,” he added.
In addition, there are 3 universities in Nagasaki prefecture having relationships with Vietnamese universities.
“Businesses and universities of Nagasaki prefecture have the assessment that Vietnamese people are very excellent, so hopefully there will be more and more Vietnamese coming to Nagasaki,” he went on to say./.