According to a VNA correspondent in Tokyo, the 2024 Vietnamese New Year Festival was co-organized by the Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka in coordination with the Vietnamese Association in the Central and Southern regions of Japan, the Vietnam-Japan Experts Association (VJS), and the Hiroshima Peace Friendship Association. Representatives of the local government attended the event, including two House of Representatives members Minoru Terada and Seki Soramoto, along with a number of members of the Hiroshima Prefectural People's Council and many local businesses. In her welcoming speech at the event, Vietnamese Consul General in Fukuoka Vu Chi Mai said that the Vietnamese community in the Central and Southern regions of Japan as well as the Kyushu region is a strong community with more than 70,000 people. Over the past time, the Vietnamese people here have always shown a spirit of solidarity, attachment and a focus on their homeland, while also playing an important role in the economic, trade and production activities of the localities in the Central and Southern regions of Japan. The exchange events on the occasion of the two countries' holidays have contributed to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening the connection between the Vietnamese community here and the local people. For his part, Congressman Minoru Terada affirmed that the Japanese Government and local authorities always attach importance to the friendship between the two countries and hope that more and more international students and skilled workers will come to Japan. Hiroshima Prefecture has strengths in semiconductor technology research, heavy industry, clean energy, shipbuilding, high-tech agriculture, and is one of the five key economic regions of Japan, along with Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka. Currently, Vietnam is considered by many local businesses as a very potential destination for investment and production cooperation.