Speaking at a recent conference with foreign investment enterprises with the theme 'Overcome challenges, seize opportunities, cooperate for development',
Takeo said that although direct investment from Japan dropped in the first half of 2022, among the biggest investment partners, Vietnam has had an impressive growth rate of more than 59% in 2021 and more than 45% this year.
This is the highest number in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The survey results of JETRO in 2021 indicated that 55% of Japanese enterprises in Vietnam are poising to expand their business and are more interested in value-added products.
Another JETRO survey of more than 1,700 companies in Japan showed that Vietnam is second only to the US in terms of investment attractiveness.
In an earlier interview with "The World and Vietnam", in early May, JETRO CEO Sasaki Nobuhiko said that the number of Japanese companies in Vietnam is increasing, with about 2,000 Japanese enterprises is currently operating here.
Japan's total investment capital stands at US$64.5 billion in 4,935 projects in Vietnam. He also reiterated that Vietnam is Japan's third largest export market and Japan is the Southeast Asian nation’s fourth largest export market.
Explaining Vietnam's attractiveness to Japanese businesses, Governor of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) Hayashi Nobumitsu praised Vietnam's efforts to maintain macroeconomic stability, while calling Vietnam as an attractive destination for Japanese investors.
For his part, Director of the Ho Chi Minh Institute at St.Petersburg National University Vladimir Kolotov commented that the stability of the political regime, the transparency and predictability of the investment environment, the gradual openness of some sectors of the economy for the entry of foreign capital, and fine-tuning the legal basis - all these are very beneficial for foreign investors to come to Vietnam.
Another advantage, Vietnam is a young country with citizens from 25 to 54 years old, accounting for nearly 45% of the national population, while another 17.8% are people aged 15-24.
Vietnam has also sent its best students to study in Japan, the US, Australia, Russia and other countries.
Kolotov emphasized that the East Asian nation has received more than tens of thousands of international students and technical interns from Vietnam.
Returning to their homeland, they became the leaders of the Japanese experience and often went to work at Japanese firms.
In Japan, labor costs are very high. In Vietnam, it is successfully combining the use of foreign business experience with a healthy patriotism, without xenophobia.
Director Kolotov affirmed, "Vietnam is actively integrating into the global production chain, which is facilitated by the presence of large multinational companies in the country, namely Japanese car giants".