Vietnam - Japan Festival 2026 in Da Nang: Connection from culture to development cooperation

After more than 10 years of being held, the Vietnam - Japan Festival has expanded in scale, becoming a meeting place for culture, investment, trade, tourism, local people, and tourists both within and outside the country.

Friendship connection

The Vietnam - Japan Festival in Da Nang 2026 will take place from July 9th to 12th.

The festival is expected to offer a series of large-scale activities relating to cultural exchange and cooperation promotion, with the participation of several localities, businesses, organizations, and artists from both countries, further affirming Da Nang's role in fostering Vietnam - Japan relation.

The festival, held annually since 2014, is one of the typical diplomatic activities between Vietnam and Japan. According to the festival's organizers, the scale and depth of cooperation have been expanded year after year. It reflects the practical development of the friendship between Da Nang and Japanese localities and partners.

Over the years, Japan has become an important partner of Da Nang City in the fields of investment, education, human resource training, technology transfer, infrastructure development, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges. Several Japanese localities, such as Sakai, Yokohama, Kinokawa, Kisarazu, Nagasaki, Shiga, etc., have established cooperative relationships with Da Nang, thereby implementing many practical and effective programs.

This foundation creates an enduring vitality for the Vietnam - Japan Festival in Da Nang. In the first few years, the festival mainly showcased culture, cuisine, and traditional art from both sides.

Recently, the festival has expanded with new fields, such as investment promotion, linkage of businesses, tourism development, sports, innovation, international finance, and youth exchange between the two countries.

A highlight of this year's festival is the harmonious blend of activities for the public and in-depth diplomatic programs. The festival, taking place at East Sea Park, will be opened within four days with nearly 100 booths showcasing Vietnam's and Japan's culture, cuisine, tourism products, and services.

In addition, several exhibitions, including achievements in cooperation between Da Nang and Japanese partners, children's paintings from Japanese localities that have cooperative relations with the city, and unique cultural activities, will happen.

Opening up cooperation opportunities in new phase

The festival’s appeal will be community interaction. The local people are viewers and they can experience, interact, and learn about the culture, customs, arts, and lifestyles of both countries in one open space.

Along with cultural exchange, the conference titled "Meet Japan in Da Nang: Comprehensive Strategic Partnership - Towards a Sustainable Future" (on July 9, 2026) will be considered another highlight of this year's festival in terms of foreign relations and development cooperation.

At the conference, the delegates will focus on practical and strategic issues, including strengthening cooperation, cultural exchange, sports, tourism, and cooperation orientations between Da Nang and Japanese localities in the coming time.

Among participants will be leaders from the Da Nang City Department of Foreign Affairs, the mayors of Sakai, Kinokawa, and Kisarazu cities, and representatives from the Takara Group.

In addition, the conference, with the participation of representatives of VIFC's Executive Agency in Da Nang, the Consul General of Japan in Da Nang, MUFG Bank in Hanoi, and Daiwa Corporate Investment, will discuss how to foster cooperation and develop the Vietnam International Financial Center (VIFC) in Da Nang within the framework of the Vietnam-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, policy exchanges, expectations for Japanese investors, and bilateral cooperation opportunities between Japanese and Vietnamese businesses and banks.

In particular, signing ceremonies of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote friendship between Da Nang City and Kinokawa City and a cooperation agreement between the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Da Nang City and Takara Corporation hope to open up concrete cooperation programs in the future.

This will create a foundation for implementing cooperation activities in culture, tourism, investment promotion, and local development in a long-term and sustainable manner.

Another remarkable point of this year's festival is the Japan Tourism Promotion Workshop in Da Nang, with the participation of representatives of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), Vietnam Airlines, and Japanese localities.

The workshop aims to introduce new tourism products, connect travel businesses, and promote the efficient operation of flight routes between Da Nang and Japan. This contributes to increasing two-way tourism while creating opportunities for tourism businesses to expand cooperation during the new recovery and development phase.