With Vietnamese goods making up only 2.7% and 3.3% in Japan and the Republic of Korea, respectively, there remains a wealth of opportunities open for Vietnamese exports to enter these promising markets, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Japan during the opening six months of the year hit more than US$20 billion, according to the latest figures released by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment in coordination with the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan and the Japan-Vietnam Economic Committee under the Japan Business Federation, held a mid-term review meeting for the Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative in Hanoi on July 5.

More Japanese consumers prefer Vietnamese cashew nuts, reflected through an expansion of the market share of the product in the country’s total import value.

Twenty-one Vietnamese enterprises in supporting industries and 48 Japanese businesses took part in an online conference on June 10, where they exchanged information and sought partners.

Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong and Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Nogami Kotaro co-hosted the fifth Vietnam-Japan high-level dialogue on development co-operation and Vietnam-Japan Public-Private Cooperation Forum on Agriculture in a virtual format on December 12.

Vietnam hopes to make economic cooperation truly an important driver for its relations with Japan, the US, and Australia, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Nguyen Van Binh said on October 30.

For many years, Japan has always been in the group of four largest trading partners of Vietnam (along with China, the US and South Korea). The trade balance between the two sides has always been kept at an equilibrium.

Vietnam, the world's biggest producer of robusta, has become the top supplier of coffee beans for Japan as the consumption of instant coffee, which uses robusta, is soaring there amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Nikkei Asia Review.

Japanese enterprises are expanding investment in sectors that are seen to have growth potential in Vietnam, according to experts.