As Viet Nam–Japan relations enter a new phase of development that is increasingly deep, substantive, and comprehensive, local-level cooperation continues to affirm its role as one of the key pillars enriching the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Within this broader landscape, Hai Phong City is emerging strongly as a prominent bright spot in Viet Nam–Japan local-level cooperation, marked by practical, sustainable, and far-reaching cooperative outcomes.
Since Viet Nam and Japan established diplomatic relations on September 21, 1973, Japan has consistently been a trusted friend and a strategic partner accompanying Viet Nam across many fields. For Hai Phong, this relationship is reflected not only in impressive figures on investment and trade, but also in Japan’s long-term and substantive contributions to infrastructure and urban development, environmental protection, human resource training, and the improvement of residents’ quality of life.
In terms of investment, Hai Phong continues to demonstrate strong appeal to Japanese enterprises. Currently, the city hosts 215 Japanese FDI projects with a total registered capital of USD 6.4 billion, making Japan the fourth-largest investor (in both total capital and number of projects) among 44 countries and territories investing in Hai Phong. Many major Japanese corporations and enterprises have chosen Hai Phong as a strategic investment destination, bringing with them advanced technologies, modern management practices, and a strong culture of legal compliance, thereby contributing to the creation of a transparent, civilized, and sustainable investment and business environment.
Investment Promotion Conference in Japan (June 2023)
Alongside investment, Japanese ODA projects have left a profound imprint on Hai Phong’s infrastructure and urban development. From transport projects, master planning, environmental management, and urban sanitation to landmark works such as Binh Bridge, the renovation of Hai Phong Port, the Phase I Stormwater and Wastewater Drainage and Solid Waste Management Project, and the upgrade of An Duong Water Plant, these projects have played an important role in reshaping the city’s urban landscape, improving the living environment, enhancing the quality of public services, while also facilitating technology transfer and strengthening the management capacity of city officials. These foundations have created strong momentum for Hai Phong to attract more major domestic and international investors, moving toward green and sustainable development.
Trade relations between Hai Phong and Japan have also maintained steady growth. In 2024, Hai Phong’s exports to Japan reached USD 3.13 billion, while imports amounted to USD 1.35 billion, further affirming Japan’s important position in the city’s import–export market structure.
Annual Viet Nam–Japan supply–demand matching sessions
In the fields of education, training, and cultural exchange, cooperation between Hai Phong and Japan is assessed as diverse, substantive, and deep-rooted. The city currently has 24 general education schools teaching Japanese, and many training institutions have established cooperative relationships with Japanese partners. Vietnam Maritime University maintains long-standing strategic ties with Japanese universities and maritime associations. Annual Japanese Speech Contests and the existence of a dedicated Japanese-language channel on Hai Phong Television highlight the city’s strong commitment to promoting people-to-people exchanges, especially among younger generations.
Annual Japanese Speech Contest
Notably, local-level cooperation has become a key pillar and a distinctive hallmark of Hai Phong–Japan relations. In recent years, cooperation between Hai Phong and Japan has expanded comprehensively and grown increasingly in depth. To date, Hai Phong has established friendly and cooperative or sister-city relations with eight Japanese localities, including Kitakyushu City, Kagawa Prefecture, Niigata Prefecture, Kobe City, Yokkaichi City, Shiga Prefecture, Fukuoka City, and Kagoshima Prefecture. Among these, Kitakyushu City officially established a sister-city relationship with Hai Phong in 2014, marking an important milestone and laying a solid foundation for long-term, substantive cooperation between the two sides.
Building on these friendly ties, exchanges of delegations at various levels—from government leaders and officials of departments and agencies to business communities and experts—along with cooperation across multiple fields such as economy, environment, culture, and education and training, have been carried out regularly and effectively. Through concrete cooperation programs and projects, Hai Phong has received active support from Japanese localities and partners in terms of funding, management experience, technical consultancy, technology transfer, and expert assistance, thereby making an important contribution to the city’s socio-economic development. These practical outcomes continue to affirm Hai Phong’s increasingly important position within the network of Viet Nam–Japan local-level cooperation and highlight the city’s role as a representative bright spot in bilateral cooperation.
Drawing from this effective cooperation in practice, Hai Phong continues to assert its proactive, dynamic, and innovative role in promoting Viet Nam–Japan local-level cooperation. The city identifies itself as an important connector, aiming to expand cooperation with Japanese localities in high-potential areas such as urban development, logistics, innovation, and green growth, while creating favorable conditions for Japanese enterprises to expand investment—particularly in high-tech sectors such as electronics, semiconductors, chip manufacturing, renewable energy, and supporting industries. At the same time, Hai Phong will further strengthen cooperation in education and training, develop high-quality human resources, and expand Japanese-language education locally.
With a solid foundation of cooperation, high political trust, and tangible achievements already attained, Hai Phong is well positioned to continue affirming its role as a prominent bright spot in Viet Nam–Japan local-level cooperation, making positive contributions to consolidating and deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries in this new phase of development.