View source for Japan–Vietnam relations

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox bilateral relations|Japanese–Vietnamese|Japan|Vietnam|map = Japan Vietnam Locator 2.svg|mission1=Japanese embassy, Hanoi|mission2=Vietnamese embassy, Tokyo}}
{{Infobox bilateral relations|map=|Japan – North Vietnam|Japan|North Vietnam|flagvariant1=|mission1=Japanese embassy, Hanoi|mission2=North Vietnamese embassy, Tokyo}}
{{Infobox bilateral relations|map=Japan South Vietnam Locator.svg|Japan – South Vietnam|Japan|South Vietnam|flagvariant1=|mission1=Japanese embassy, Saigon|mission2=South Vietnamese embassy, Tokyo}}
{{Infobox bilateral relations|map=Japan South Vietnam Locator.svg|Japan – Republic of South Vietnam|Japan|Republic of South Vietnam|flagvariant1=|mission1=Japanese embassy, Saigon – Gia Dinh|mission2=None}}

'''Japanese–Vietnamese relations''' ({{langx|ja|日越関係}};  ''{{transliteration|ja|Nichietsukankei}}''; ''{{langx|vi|Quan hệ Nhật Bản - Việt Nam}}'') are over a millennium old, and the establishment of friendly trade relations can be traced to at least the 16th century. Modern relations between the two countries are based on [[Vietnam]]'s [[developing economy]] and Japan's role as an investor and [[foreign aid]] donor, as well as migrant Vietnamese workers supplying much needed labour in Japan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=VnExpress |title=Milestones in Vietnam – Japan relations |url=https://e.vnexpress.net/photo/news/milestones-in-vietnam---japan-relations-4682231.html |access-date=2024-05-10 |website=VnExpress International – Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=VnExpress |title=Vietnamese make up largest percentage of Japan's foreign workforce - VnExpress International |url=https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/vietnamese-make-up-largest-percentage-of-japan-s-foreign-workforce-4706017.html |access-date=2024-05-10 |website=VnExpress International – Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam |language=en}}</ref>

In 2023, Vietnam and Japan upgraded their relations to a "comprehensive strategic partnership".<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 November 2023 |title=Vietnam upgrades ties with Japan to highest level |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/vietnam-upgrades-ties-with-japan-highest-level-2023-11-27/ |access-date=10 May 2024 |website=Reuters}}</ref>

== Country comparison ==

{| class="wikitable"
|'''Official name'''
| style="text-align:center" |'''[[Socialist Republic of Vietnam]]'''
| style="text-align:center" |'''[[Japan]]'''
|-
|'''Flag'''
| style="text-align:center" |{{Flagicon|Vietnam|size=145px}}
| style="text-align:center" |{{Flagicon|Japan|size=145px}}
|-
|'''Coat of Arms'''
| style="text-align:center" |[[File:Emblem of Vietnam.svg|Emblem of Vietnam|240x240px]]
| style="text-align:center" |[[File:Imperial Seal of Japan.svg|Imperial Seal of Japan|240x240px]]
|-
|'''Anthem'''
|[[Tiến Quân Ca]]
|[[Kimigayo]]
|-
|'''National day'''
|[[National Day (Vietnam)|2 September]]
|[[National Foundation Day (Japan)|11 February]]
|-
|'''[[Capital city]]'''
|[[Hanoi]]
|[[Tokyo]]
|-
|'''Largest city'''
|[[Ho Chi Minh City]] – 8,993,082 (21,281,639 Metro)
|[[Tokyo]] – 13,960,236 (37,468,000 Metro)
|-
|'''[[Government]]'''
|[[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] [[One-party state|one-party]] [[Socialist state|socialist]] [[republic]]<!-- The Constitution of Vietnam states that the country is a "socialist republic". This is often regarded as being interchangeable with "communist state" by Western scholars, but legally and officially speaking it is not. -->
|[[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]]
|-
|'''Head of State'''
|[[Lương Cường]]
|[[Naruhito]]
|-
|'''Head of Government'''
|[[Phạm Minh Chính]]
|[[Shigeru Ishiba]]
|-
|'''Official language'''
|[[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] 
|[[Japanese language|Japanese]]
|-
|'''Main [[religion]]s'''
|{{ublist |item_style=white-space:nowrap; |45.3% [[Vietnamese folk religion|Folk]] |28.4% [[Irreligion|No religion]]  |14.9% [[Buddhism in Vietnam|Buddhism]] |8.5% [[Christianity in Vietnam|Christianity]] |1.5% [[Hoahaoism]] |1.2% [[Caodaism]]  |0.2% [[Religion in Vietnam|Other]]s<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/vietnam/|title=2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Vietnam|website=[[U.S. Department of State]]}}</ref>}}
|69% [[Shinto]]

66.7% [[Buddhism]]

1.5% [[Christianity in Japan|Christianity]]

6.2% Other
|-
|'''Current Constitution'''
|[[Constitution of Vietnam|28 November 2013]]
|[[Constitution of Japan|3 May 1947]]
|-
|'''[[List of countries and dependencies by area|Area]]'''
|{{convert|331699|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|377976|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|-
|'''[[List of time zones by country|Time zones]]'''
|1
|1
|-
|'''[[List of countries and dependencies by population|Population]]'''
|103,808,319
|125,927,000
|-
|'''[[List of countries and dependencies by population density|Population density]]'''
|295/km<sup>2</sup>
|337/km<sup>2</sup>
|-
|'''[[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|GDP (nominal)]]'''
|$465.814 billion
|$4.110 trillion
|-
|'''[[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|GDP (nominal) per capita]]'''
|$4,623
|$33,138
|-
|'''[[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|GDP (PPP)]]'''
|$1.559 trillion
|$6.721 trillion
|-
|'''[[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|GDP (PPP) per capita]]'''
|$15,470
|$54,184
|-
|'''[[List of countries by Human Development Index|HDI]]'''
|0.704
|0.925
|-
|'''[[List of circulating currencies|Currency]]'''
|[[Vietnamese đồng]]
|[[Japanese yen]]
|}

== History ==

=== Early contact ===

In the 8th century, [[Abe no Nakamaro]], a descendant of the [[Imperial House of Japan]], entered the Chinese civil service under the [[Tang dynasty]] and eventually served as governor (''[[jiedushi]]'') of [[Annam (province)|Annam]] from 761 to 767.<ref name="nussbaum3">[[Louis-Frédéric|Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric]]. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA3&dq= "Abe no Nakamaro, "]''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 3.</ref>

During the 8th century, the Japanese court composite ritual art comprising orchestral music and dance ([[Bugaku]]) known as ''Rinyu-gaku'' is said to have been introduced by a foreign monk named "Buttetsu" (Phật Triết) who came from [[Champa|Rinyu (Chăm Pa)]].<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-Early-Associations">{{cite web|url= https://www.archives.go.jp/event/jp_vn45/english/ch01.html|title= Japan and Vietnam § Early Associations.|date=2018|accessdate=4 October 2022|author= Japan and Vietnam - Archival Records on Our History (Joint Project Celebrating the 45th Anniversary of Japan-Viet Nam Diplomatic Relations)|publisher= [[National Archives of Japan]]|language=en}}</ref>

An archaeological dig in [[Kyūshū]], the most southwesterly of the four main islands of Japan, revealed fragments of a Vietnamese ceramic with the inscribed date of 1330, but ended in 1332.<ref name=luc>Luc, Thuan. [http://www.charm.ru/coins/vn/nagasaki.shtml Japan early trade coin and the commercial trade between Vietnam and Japan in the 17th century]. Retrieved on 8 May 2009.</ref><ref>[[John N. Miksic]]. ''Southeast Asian Ceramics: New Light on Old Pottery''. Editions Didier Millet, 2009. {{ISBN|9814260134}}, p.93.</ref>

=== 16th to 17th century ===

[[File:Red Seal Ship departs Nagasaki to Annam (Vietnam).jpg|thumb|left|An [[Edo period|Edo-period]] Japanese red seal ship sailing out of [[Nagasaki]] for Annam (Vietnam)]]
[[File:Chua Cau Hoi An.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[Chua Cau Temple Bridge|Chùa Cầu]]'', a Japanese-built [[covered bridge]] in [[Hội An]]]]

Vietnamese official records documented the first contact between the Japanese and the Vietnamese occurred in 1585. [[Wokou|Japanese pirates]] first arrived on the Vietnamese coast in that year, with five ships, led by the pirate captain [[Shirahama Kenki]] and began to engage in raids and coastal assaults hurting the local populace. Lord [[Nguyễn Hoàng]]’s sixth son [[Nguyen Phuc Nguyen]] mobilized and immediately led a fleet of around ten ships to the Cửa Việt seaport where in swift style destroyed two of the raiders ships as a warning to the rest, that if they do not leave that would be their fate too. Shirahama fearing death fled quickly. Later in 1599, 14 years after that incident, Shirahama now showing up in a ‘different light’ had been found wrecked in the Thuan An sea port, a local official believing him to be a brigand or pirate engaged in a fight with Shirahama, where he was killed in the altercation. Shirahama was subsequently imprisoned but was spared execution. In 1601, Lord Nguyen Hoang sent a missive to [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] the new shōgun of Japan, which in the letter he mentioned the incident concerning a citizen of the shogun’s country. The response from Japan was one that praised their thoughtfulness in dealing with the situation, and confirmed that, from then on, all their legitimate trading ships would be bearing the red seal of the shogun. Tokogawa declared such ships to be legitimate, and this was the first confirmed official contact between the two governments, which marked the beginning of a then diplomatic trading relationship that lasted for much of that century.<ref name=tana>Li, Tana. ''Nguyen Cochinchina: Southern Vietnam in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries''. Ithaca: [[Cornell University Press]], 1998. pp60–61.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Japan early trade coin and the commercial trade beetwen Vietnam and Japan in the 17th century |url=http://www.charm.ru/coins/vn/nagasaki.shtml |website=www.charm.ru |access-date=3 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=10 Brave And Bloodthirsty Pirates Of The Pacific |url=https://listverse.com/2015/09/05/10-brave-and-bloodthirsty-pirates-of-the-pacific/ |website=Listverse |access-date=3 December 2024 |date=5 September 2015}}</ref>

As early as the 16th century, contact between Japan and Vietnam came in the form of trade and bartering.<ref>Owen, Norman G., Chandler, David. ''The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia'' (p. 107). [[University of Hawai{{okina}}i Press]], 2005. {{ISBN|0-8248-2841-0}}</ref> Along with [[Siam]] ([[Thailand]]) and [[Malaysia]], Japanese [[red seal ships]] frequented Vietnamese ports. Vietnamese records show that when the port of [[Hội An]] was opened by [[Nguyễn lords|Lord]] [[Nguyễn Hoàng]] in the early 17th century, hundreds of Japanese traders were already residing there.<ref name=luc />

Vietnamese traders bought silver, copper and bronze from Japan in exchange for Vietnamese [[silk]], sugar, spices and [[sandalwood]], which fetched a huge profit back in Japan. In order to handle the influx of traders, a Japanese district called ''Nihonmachi'' was set up at Hội An.<ref name=luc /> The metals trade was vital to the Nguyen lords, for they needed coins for commerce and bronze to cast guns.

The two countries enjoyed a warm degree of friendship.<ref name=luc /> ''[[Shōgun]]'' [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] exchanged amicable letters and gifts with Lord Nguyen. His son Lord [[Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên]] would marry his daughter Princess [[Ngoc Khoa]] to [[Araki Shutaro]], an eminent Japanese trader.<ref name=luc />

An aggregate of 34 letters were exchanged between the [[Tokugawa Shogunate]] and what the Japanese referred to as ''[[Đại Việt|An Nam Quốc]]'' (安南國), of these letters 15 came from the Tokugawa Shogunate and 19 from the Nguyễn lords based in Quảng Nam.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-Early-Modern">{{cite web|url= https://www.archives.go.jp/event/jp_vn45/english/ch02.html|title= Japan and Vietnam § II. Exchange in the Early Modern Era.|date=2018|accessdate=4 October 2022|author= Japan and Vietnam - Archival Records on Our History (Joint Project Celebrating the 45th Anniversary of Japan-Viet Nam Diplomatic Relations)|publisher= [[National Archives of Japan]]|language=en}}</ref> This made Vietnam one of the Asian countries that the Tokugawa Shogunate corresponded with the most during this period.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-Early-Modern"/>

When Japan entered a period of [[sakoku|self-isolation]], trade continued to flow, either through the planning of permanent residents or through intermediary [[Dutch people|Dutch]] merchants. However, in 1685 the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] became aware of the nation's overexploited silver and copper mines, and a trade restriction was put in place. Due to the importance of these metals, the new regulations dampened trade between Japan and Vietnam, as well as much of South Asia.<ref name=luc />

Despite officially isolating itself from the outside world, references to Vietnamese–Japanese relations can still be found, the Chronicle ''Đại Nam Thực Lục Tiền Biên'' written during the 19th century makes references to Japanese trading vessels engaged in commercial operations in both the provinces of [[Gia Định province|Gia Định]] and [[Biên Hòa province|Biên Hòa]] in 1679.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-Early-Modern"/> On the 22nd page of the 5th volume of the ''Đại Nam Thực Lục Tiền Biên'' it notes: "Warships commanded by (Duong) Ngạn Địch and Hoàng Tiến came to the Bàn Lân hamlet (now in Biên Hòa province) via the Lôi Lạp estuary (now in Gia Định province). They reclaimed fallow land and built towns where trading vessels from the Qing Empire, western countries, Japan, and Java flocked."<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-Early-Modern"/> This indicates that trade between the two countries existed even after the ''sakoku'' policy was enacted.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-Early-Modern"/>

=== 19th to 20th century ===

==== 19th century ====

A report dated the 10th day of the 12th month of the 16th year of [[Gia Long]]'s reign (1817) assembled by [[Lê Tông Chất]] (the Imperial Delegate for the Northern region) mentioned the tale of five Vietnamese drifters who, while travelling from Gia Định (modern-day [[Ho Chi Minh City]]) to [[Huế]], drifted ashore to Japan.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-Early-Modern"/> The report noted that these soldiers left the city of Gia Định in the middle of 1815 and after a short while ended up in Japan, these soldiers were rescued and supported by local Japanese residents and officials and ended up returning to Vietnam through the Trấn Nam Quan border gate in 1817 after traveling through Qing China.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-Early-Modern"/>

With the [[Meiji restoration]] in 1868, Japan adopted a more outward-facing foreign policy, part of which eventually involved more active diplomacy and trade with [[French Indochina]], the colonial state that contained the territory of present-day Vietnam. While Japan's economic transformation and colonial expansion in Asia secured its subjects' elevated legal status abroad (especially in European colonies like French Indochina where one's race was a factor in legal status), it also attracted the attention of colonialism's opponents. A number of Vietnamese nationalists became drawn to Japan after its 1905 victory in the [[Russo-Japanese War]], as [[Phan Bội Châu]] encouraged Vietnamese youth to travel to Japan and study in preparation for revolution against the French colonial government in what was called the [[Đông Du]] movement; among these students was [[Cường Để]], heir to the throne of the [[Nguyễn dynasty]]. The Russo-Japanese War had created diplomatic tension between France and Japan due to France's closeness to Russia throughout the conflict, leading to the [[Franco-Japanese Treaty of 1907]]. The treaty improved relations between Japan and French Indochina, prompting Japan to crackdown on Vietnamese students in the Đong Du movement who by 1910 had either fled Japan or been deported, including Cường Để who, like Phan Bôi Châu, escaped into self-imposed exile.<ref>Phan Boi Chau. tr. Vinh Sinh and Nicholas Wickenden. Overturned Chariot: The Autobiography of Phan-Bội-Châu. Honolulu: [[University of Hawai{{okina}}i]] Press, 1999.</ref>

Japanese women called [[Karayuki-san]] migrated to cities like Hanoi, Haiphong and Saigon in colonial French Indochina in the late 19th century to work as prostitutes and provide sexual services to French soldiers who were occupying Vietnam since the French viewed Japanese women as clean they were highly popular.<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Roustan|first1= Frédéric|date= 2012|title= Mousmés and French Colonial Culture: Making Japanese Women's Bodies Available in Indochina|url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/vs.2012.7.1.52|journal= Journal of Vietnamese Studies|volume= 7|issue= 1|pages= 52–105|doi= 10.1525/vs.2012.7.1.52|jstor= 10.1525/vs.2012.7.1.52|access-date= |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220621023718/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/vs.2012.7.1.52|archive-date= 21 June 2022|url-status= bot: unknown|url-access= subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://simipress.com/a-brief-primer-on-vice-and-sex-in-colonial-vietnam/|title=A Brief Primer on Vice and Sex in Colonial Vietnam |last=Carney  |first= Joey |date=  27 April 2020|website= Simi Press |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref> Images of the Japanese prostitutes in Vietnam were put on [[French postcard]]s by French photographers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hoskins|first1=Janet |date=Summer 2007|title=Postcards from the Edge of Empire: Images and Messages from French Indochina |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28649479|journal=Asia's Colonial Photographies|publisher=IIAS Newsletter|volume= |issue=44 |pages=16, 17|doi=|access-date=}} [https://www.academia.edu/2095655 Alt URL]</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.academia.edu/911418 | title=Postcards from the Edge of Empire: Images and Messages from French Indochina | journal=IIAS Newsletter | date=January 2007 | last1=Hoskins | first1=Janet }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Yee|first1= Jennifer |date=2004  |title=Recycling the 'Colonial Harem'? Women in Postcards from French Indochina |url=https://www.academia.edu/6604559 |journal=French Cultural Studies |volume=15 |issue=5 |pages=5–19 |doi=10.1177/0957155804040405 |s2cid= 162718081 |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://saigoneer.com/saigon-people/4827-photos-the-japanese-prostitutes-of-colonial-vietnam |title= [Photos] The Japanese Prostitutes Of Colonial Vietnam |last= |first= |date=15 July 2015 |website=Saigoneer |publisher= |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150717104138/https://saigoneer.com/saigon-people/4827-photos-the-japanese-prostitutes-of-colonial-vietnam |access-date= |archive-date= 17 July 2015 |quote=}}</ref><ref>*陳碧純，「山打根的八番娼館」之讀後心得，亞太研究論壇卷期:28 2005.06，頁309-315。http://www.rchss.sinica.edu.tw/capas/publication/newsletter/N28/2806.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811005721/https://www.rchss.sinica.edu.tw/capas/publication/newsletter/N28/2806.pdf |date=11 August 2022 }}
*佐藤トゥイウェン，「第 4 章「孝」に殉じた天草の「からゆきさん」」，『周縁の文化交渉学シリーズ 8天草諸島の歴史と現在』，関西大学文化交渉学教育研究拠点，2012年。
*柏木卓司，『戦前期フランス領インドシナにおける邦人進出の形態-「職業別人口表 」を中心として-』 ， (アジア経済 ) 31(3) 1990 3: p.&nbsp;78-98。
*柏木卓司，「ベトナムのからゆきさん」，『歴史と人物』10月号，中央公論，1979，208頁。
*神坂次郎，『おれは伊平次』，講談社文庫，2002/8。
*平田豊弘，「松下光廣と大南公司」，『周縁の文化交渉学シリーズ 4 陶磁器流通と西海地域』，関西大学，荒武賢一朗編，2011年。
*Ch. Lemire,　Les cinq Pays de l'Indo-Chine française, l'établissement de Kouang-Tchéou, le Siam，Juillet 1899．
*Dean Meyers and My-Van Tran, The Cao Dai, Prince Cuong De and the Japanese in 1937–1939, THE CRISIS OF THE EIGHTH LUNAR MONTH, University of South Australia, IJAPS Vol. 2 (May) 2006.</ref> The Japanese government tried to hide the existences of these Japanese prostitutes who went abroad and do not mention them in books on history.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ranker.com/list/what-are-japanese-karayuki-san/melissa-sartore |title=Facts About Karayuki-San, The Japanese Sex Workers Trafficked To The Rest Of The World |last=Sartore |first=Melissa  |date=7 June 2019 |website=Ranker |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jolivet  |first=Muriel |author-link= |date=2005 |title=Japan: The Childless Society?: The Crisis of Motherhood |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sAD3a6WaLgEC&dq=karayuki-san+erased+from+japanese+history&pg=PA124 |location= |publisher= Routledge|page=124 |isbn=1134757166}}</ref>

During the 19th century the ''[[Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư]]'' was distributed in Japan.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-Modern-Exchange">{{cite web|url= https://www.archives.go.jp/event/jp_vn45/english/ch03.html|title= Japan and Vietnam § III. Exchange in the Modern and Contemporary Periods.|date=2018|accessdate=4 October 2022|author= Japan and Vietnam - Archival Records on Our History (Joint Project Celebrating the 45th Anniversary of Japan-Viet Nam Diplomatic Relations)|publisher= [[National Archives of Japan]]|language=en}}</ref> In 1883 [[Toshiaki Hikida]], a military officer of the General Staff Office of the [[Japanese Imperial Army]], was assigned his post in Vietnam, during his stay there a local mandarin in [[Hanoi]] would give him a copy of the ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'' which after returning to Japan in 1884 he would publish and reprint there.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-Modern-Exchange"/> Afterward, Hikida's version of the ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'' would become widely circulated outside of Vietnam.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-Modern-Exchange"/>

==== World War I====
On 27 August 1914 Japan officially entered the [[World War I]] on the side of [[Allies of World War I|the allies]] (also known as the Entente Powers), Japan [[Siege of Tsingtao|invaded and took]] the [[German colonial empire|German colony]] of [[Qingdao|Tsingtao]] and the rest of the [[Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory]].<ref name="Encyclopedia-1914-1918-French-Indochina">{{cite web|url= https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/indochina|title= Indochina (Version 1.0).|date=11 January 2022|accessdate=17 August 2022|author= Claire Thi Liên Trân|publisher= 1914-1918-online - International Encyclopedie of the First World War ([[Free University of Berlin]], [[Bavarian State Library]], and [[Deutsch-Französische Gymnasium]], among others)|language=en}} - Thi Liên Trân, Claire: Indochina, in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. by Ute Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, issued by Freie Universität Berlin, [[Berlin]] (2022-01-11). DOI: 10.15463/ie1418.11594.</ref> In November 1914 Japan would supplant the German sphere of influence in southern China with its own political and economic influence, putting it in direct competition with the French Indochina.<ref name="Encyclopedia-1914-1918-French-Indochina"/> Despite the fact that the Japanese openly supported a number of anti-French secessionist movements such as Prince [[Cường Để]]'s ''[[Duy Tân Hội]]'', the [[Western Front (World War I)|French situation in Europe]] forced Prime Minister [[Georges Clemenceau]] to ask the Japanese for their help.<ref name="Encyclopedia-1914-1918-French-Indochina"/>

Clemenceau asked the Empire of Japan to aid them with the transportation of the ''travailleurs et tirailleurs indochinois'' to Europe and by sending [[Imperial Japanese Armed Forces|its own forces]] to help fight in Europe.<ref name="Encyclopedia-1914-1918-French-Indochina"/> Clemenceau also wanted the Japanese [[Japanese intervention in Siberia|intervene in Siberia]] against the [[Bolsheviks|Bolshevik]] forces during the [[Russian Civil War]] to secure the repayment of French-Russian loans, which were crucial to the French post-war economy.<ref name="Encyclopedia-1914-1918-French-Indochina"/>

Both during and after the war the economic relations between France and Japan strengthened as Japan became a creditor of France, following the latter's financial difficulties which came as a result of the war.<ref>Morlat, Patrice: ''Indochine années vingt. Le balcon de la France sur le Pacifique. Une age de l'histoire de France en Extrême Orient, volume 1'', [[Paris]] (2001): Indes savantes. pp. 169-170. (in [[French language|French]]).</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia-1914-1918-French-Indochina"/>

==== Joint French-Japanese administration of Vietnam ====
[[File:Comm-franco-japonais.jpg|thumb|right|The seal of the ''Commissariat genéral aux relations franco-japonaises'' in [[Hanoi]] of the [[French Indochina#Administration|Government-General of French Indochina]]]] 
[[File:Commissariat-franco-jap.jpg|thumb|right|The seal of the ''Commissariat délégué aux relations franco-japonaises'' in [[Ho Chi Minh City|Saigon]] of the Government-General of French Indochina]]

In June 1940, France fell to Nazi Germany which led to the creation of the puppet [[Vichy regime]] to which the government of French Indochina remained loyal, motivated in part by a desire not to antagonize Japan who by then occupied the Chinese territory directly bordering Indochina. French Indochina's new alignment with Axis nations could not fully prevent Japanese aggression, however, as Japan was willing to use military force against French Indochina in order to achieve its strategic goals in the region. On 22 September 1940, Japan invaded Vietnam in a limited conflict that secured privileges to station large numbers of troops in Tonkin as well as control over a number of key bases;<ref name="David G. Marr 1995">David G. Marr. Vietnam 1945: The Quest for Power. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995.</ref> French Indochina allowed Japan to station troops in the rest of Indochina and ceded further bases in July 1941 after which Japan also began constructing its own military bases to strike against the Allies in Southeast Asia.<ref>Howard Langer. ''The Vietnam War: An Encyclopedia of Quotations''. [[Greenwood Publishing Group]], 2005. {{ISBN|0313321434}}, pp.12-13.</ref> The Japanese occupation was a partial one in which French Indochina maintained control over its own military and most aspects of government and administration. Even so, when Japan made demands of the French colonial government, it was in no position to refuse. As a result, as the war progressed, French Indochina granted more and more economic privileges to Japanese companies. This precarious relationship between Japan and French Indochina continued until March 1945 when they ousted the colonial government and replaced it with a government called the [[Empire of Vietnam]], essentially a Japanese puppet state, which stayed in place for mere months until Japan's surrender in August 1945.<ref name="David G. Marr 1995"/>

While Japan maintained a cordial but tense relationship with the French colonial government, it also worked to establish independent relationships with various Vietnamese political factions with histories of opposition to the French authority, most notably the [[Hoa Hao]] Buddhist sect and adherents of [[Cao Dai]] as a means of undermining French authority through the establishment of its own local political support base. The [[Viet Minh]], established in May 1941, regularly engaged in guerrilla combat with Japanese (and French) forces until their surrender to the Allies in 1945; the Vietnamese Nationalist Party ([[Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng]], or VNQDĐ) also fought Japanese forces in China and Indochina.

In Hanoi on 15–20 April 1945 the Tonkin Revolutionary Military Conference of the Việt Minh issued a resolution calling for a general uprising, resistance and guerilla warfare against the Japanese by establishing 7 war zones across Vietnam and insisting that the people's only way forward was armed resistance against the Japanese and ouster of the Vietnamese puppet government that served them. The resolution also called for the French's recognition of Vietnamese independence and for the [[Charles de Gaulle|de Gaulle]]-led French government (Allied French) to cooperate with the Vietnamese against Japan.<ref>{{cite book |last=Truong  |first=Chinh |author-link= |date= 19 May 1971 |title=Translations on North Vietnam, Volume 17 |series=JPRS (Series)|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sTrcAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22establish+an+organization+of+Chinese+and+Vietnamese+Allied+against+Japan%22&pg=RA2-PA7|location= |chapter=I. DOCUMENTS FROM THE AUGUST REVOLUTION RESOLUTION OF THE TONKIN REVOLUTIONARY MILITARY CONFERENCE, JPRS 53169 19 May 1971 TRANSLATIONS ON NORTH VIETNAM No. 940 DOCUMENTS ON THE AUGUST REVOLUTION |publisher=U.S. Joint Publications Research Service. |pages=1–7 |isbn=}}</ref><ref>I. DOCUMENTS FROM THE AUGUST REVOLUTION RESOLUTION OF THE TONKIN REVOLUTIONARY MILITARY CONFERENCE [Excerpt from the Resolution of the Tonkin Revolutionary Military Conference Held Between 15 and 20 April 1945; Hanoi, Nhan Dan, Vietnamese, 25 August 1970, pp 1.4]</ref>

==== Events following the Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina ====

Japanese wartime policies in Vietnam came at the expense of the Vietnamese people. The Japanese ordered the destruction of [[paddy fields]] in favor of [[jute]] cultivation, and hoarded rice for domestic use, which resulted in the [[Vietnamese famine of 1945]], in which 400 thousand to 2 million Vietnamese died of hunger.

In July, the [[Việt Minh]] led attempts to force an entry into Japanese rice silos and redistribute it to starving peasants. The following month, [[Trường Chinh]] wrote an article titled "Policy of the Japanese Pirates Towards Our People" in Issue No 3 of the Communist Review (Tạp chí Cộng sản). In the article, Trường Chinh refuted the Japanese lies to have ‘liberated’ Vietnam from France, and went into detail on Japanese atrocities such as pillaging, slaughter, torture, and rape against the Vietnamese people in [[1945]].<ref name=northvietnamesemay1971>{{cite book |last=Truong  |first=Chinh |author-link= |date= 19 May 1971|title=Translations on North Vietnam, Volume 17 |series=JPRS (Series)|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sTrcAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22Wherever+they+went%2C+the+Japanese+forces+burned+down+homes%2C+murdered+law-abiding+citizens%2C+raped+women%2C+and+stole+possessions.%22&pg=RA2-PA9|location= |chapter=Policy of the Japanese Pirates Towards Our people, JPRS 53169 19 May 1971 TRANSLATIONS ON NORTH VIETNAM No. 940 DOCUMENTS ON THE AUGUST REVOLUTION |publisher=U.S. Joint Publications Research Service. |pages=8–13 |isbn=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-15 |title=The OSS in Vietnam, 1945: A War of Missed Opportunities by Dixee Bartholomew-Feis |url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/oss-vietnam-1945-dixee-bartholomew-feis |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=The National WWII Museum {{!}} New Orleans |language=en}}</ref> In a document which was translated into English in May 1971, Chinh stated that after turning on [[Viet Minh]] following the removal of French forces, "wherever they went, the Japanese forces burned down homes, murdered law-abiding citizens, raped women, and stole possessions."<ref name=northvietnamesemay1971 />

==== 1946–1976 ====
[[File:Exchange of Notes Concerning the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations Between Japan and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.jpg|thumb|right|The document establishing official bilateral relations between [[Japan]] and [[North Vietnam]] signed in [[Paris]], [[France]], on 21 September 1973]]

After 1945 a number of Japanese soldiers stayed behind in French Indochina; several of them took Vietnamese [[war bride]]s and [[War children|sired children with them]] (''[[Hāfu]]'').<ref name="War-History-Online-Akihito-2017">{{cite web|url= https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/japans-emperor-empress-meet-children-abandoned-japanese-soldiers-wwii.html|title= Japan's Emperor and Empress Meet With Children Abandoned by Japanese Soldiers After WWII.|date=6 March 2017|accessdate=6 September 2022|author= Ian Harvey|publisher= War History Online (The place for military history news and views)|language=en}}</ref> Many of these leftover Japanese soldiers would work with [[Hồ Chí Minh]] and the [[Indochinese Communist Party]] after the war to fight against French colonialism.<ref name="War-History-Online-Akihito-2017"/> In 1954, the Vietnamese government ordered the Japanese soldiers to return home.<ref name="War-History-Online-Akihito-2017"/> They were "encouraged" to leave their families behind, effectively abandoning their war children in Vietnam.<ref name="War-History-Online-Akihito-2017"/> The half-Japanese children left behind in Vietnam after 1954 were subjected to harsh discrimination. They were often raised by [[single mother]]s who were condemned for fathering children with invaders during the war.<ref name="War-History-Online-Akihito-2017"/>

Despite there not being any official diplomatic ties between Japan and [[North Vietnam]] between 1954 and 1973, private exchanges were gradually being rebuilt. In March 1955 the Japan–Vietnam Friendship Association was founded and in August that year the Japan–Vietnam Trade Association was established.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-New-Partnership">{{cite web|url= https://www.archives.go.jp/event/jp_vn45/english/ch04.html|title= Japan and Vietnam § IV. Vietnam and Japan: Old Partners, New Partnership.|date=2018|accessdate=19 October 2022|author= Japan and Vietnam - Archival Records on Our History (Joint Project Celebrating the 45th Anniversary of Japan-Viet Nam Diplomatic Relations)|publisher= [[National Archives of Japan]]|language=en}}</ref> In 1965 the North Vietnam–Japan Friendship Association was established to help maintain unofficial relations between the two countries.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-New-Partnership"/>

An economics journal in North Vietnam, Nghiên cứu Kinh tế, on pages 60-80 of issue No. 57 published an article accusing Japan of implementing neocolonial economic policies. The North Vietnamese warned other Asians that they had to "increase their vigilance over every activity of the Japanese financial magnates, step up their struggle against Japan's policies of economic aggression and promptly block its aggressive plots" in order to "clip the wings" of US imperialism. The article denounced the US-Japanese alliance and Japanese neocolonialism and urged that anti-imperialists and socialists disrupt them in Japan.<ref>{{cite book |author-link= |date= 1971|title=Translations on North Vietnam, Volume 17 |series=JPRS (Series)|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sTrcAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22Japan+failed+to+dominate+Asia+economically+as+a+result+of+the+Second+World+War%22&pg=RA1-PA7-IA4|location= |publisher=U.S. Joint Publications Research Service. |chapter=JPRS 53162 18 May 1971 TRANSLATIONS ON NORTH VIETNAN No. 939 |pages=10, 11 |isbn=}}</ref><ref>INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS JAPAN'S ECONOMIC EXPANSION SEEN AS NEOCOLONIALISM WITH U.S. IMPRINT</ref>

During the [[Vietnam War]] of the 1960s and 1970s, Japan consistently encouraged a negotiated settlement at the earliest possible date. Even before the hostilities ended, it had made contact with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) government and had reached an agreement to establish diplomatic relations in September 1973.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-New-Partnership"/> Implementation, however, was delayed by North Vietnamese demands that Japan pay the equivalent of US$45 million in World War II reparations in two yearly instalments, in the form of "economic cooperation" grants. Giving in to the North Vietnamese demands, Japan agreed to pay the reparations and opened an embassy in [[Hanoi]] on 11 October 1975, following the [[fall of Saigon]].<ref>Masaya Shiraishi. ''Japanese Relations with Vietnam, 1951-1987''. SEAP Publications, 1990. {{ISBN|0877271224}}, pp.43-44.</ref>

On 30 January 1976 the [[Consulate General of Japan, Honolulu|Consul-General of Japan in Honolulu]] in the United States, [[Takaaki Hasegawa]], was appointed to become the first Ambassador to North Vietnam.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-New-Partnership"/> North Vietnam and South Vietnam were unified into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on 2 July 1976.

==== After the Vietnam War ====
[[File:Vo Van Kiet and Tomiichi Murayama.jpg|left|thumb|272x272px|[[Prime Minister of Vietnam|Vietnamese Prime Minister]] [[Võ Văn Kiệt]] with [[Prime Minister of Japan|Japanese Prime Minister]] [[Tomiichi Murayama]] during Murayama visit to [[Hanoi]], [[Vietnam]] on August 25, 1994. Tomiichi Murayama become the first Japanese Prime Minister to have visit Vietnam following the end of [[Vietnam War]] in 1975. ]]
In 1978, the first [[Official development assistance]] (ODA) loan was granted by the Japanese government to the [[Socialist Republic of Vietnam]].<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-New-Partnership"/> This initial grant was to be used for the procurement of products and associated services on the condition that the suppliers could be from any county and would not be exclusively limited businesses those owned Japanese nationals.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-New-Partnership"/> Meanwhile, Japanese trade with Vietnam—US$285 million in 1986<ref>Ronald J. Cima. ''Vietnam: A Country Study''. The Division, 1989, p.171.</ref>—was conducted through Japanese trading companies and the [[Japan-Vietnam Trade Association]], which was made up of some 83 Japanese firms. Japanese government officials also visited Hanoi in support of trade, but Vietnam's failure to repay outstanding public and private debts inhibited further trade growth. Japanese exports to Vietnam emphasized chemicals, textiles, machinery, and transportation equipment. In return, Vietnamese exports to Japan comprised mostly marine products and coal.

At the end of the 1980s, Vietnam was faced with [[international isolation]], waning [[Eastern Bloc|Soviet bloc]] support, continued armed resistance in [[Laos]], and large-scale economic problems at home. Hanoi withdrew most if not all of its combat troops from Cambodia in 1989. It appealed to developed countries to open channels of economic cooperation, trade, and aid. Although some Japanese businesses were interested in investment and trade with Vietnam and Cambodia, the [[Government of Japan|Japanese government]] still opposed economic cooperation with those countries until there had been a comprehensive settlement in Laos. This stand was basically consistent with United States policy of the time. Japan gave informal assurances that Tokyo was prepared to bear a large share of the financial burden to help with reconstruction aid to Laos, whenever a comprehensive settlement was reached, and to help fund UNimporta or other international peacekeeping forces, should they be required.

Japan carried through on its promises. Following the Final Act of the International [[Paris Conference on Cambodia]] between the Laos parties, [[Indonesia]] (as co-chair with France), and the five permanent members of the [[United Nations Security Council]], Japan promptly re-established diplomatic relations and ended economic restrictions with Cambodia and Vietnam. In November 1992, Tokyo offered Vietnam US$370 million in aid.<ref>Institute of World Economy. ''World Economic Problems''. Institute of World Economy, National Centre for Social Sciences of the S.R. Vietnam, 1994. Page 28</ref> Japan also took a leading role in peacekeeping activities in Cambodia. [[Akashi Yasushi]], UN undersecretary for disarmament, was head of the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia, and Japan pledged US$3 million and even sent approximately 2,000 personnel including members of the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces|SDF]], to participate directly in maintaining recently restored peace. Despite the loss of a Japanese peacekeeper killed in an ambush, the force remained in Cambodia until the Cambodians were able to elect a new government.

Following the war, Vietnam joined [[ASEAN]] in 1995 and [[ASEAN Plus Three]] consultations, which include [[People's Republic of China|China]], Japan, and [[South Korea]] were established in 1997. These nations share a place in the Southeast Asian economy and security framework.

On 30 October 1998 the [[Hải Vân Tunnel]] Construction Project was started, which was mainly financed by a loan provided by the Japanese [[Japan Bank for International Cooperation|Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund]] (OECF).<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-New-Partnership"/> The tunnel helps connect the major cities of [[Huế]] and [[Đà Nẵng]].

=== 21st century ===

[[File:Inverted_V_Arches_(18373617190).jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Nhật Tân Bridge]] in Hanoi, funded by [[Japan International Cooperation Agency]] ODA]]

In early 2000 the [[Japan Bank for International Cooperation]] (JBIC) financed a [[Red River (Asia)|Red River]] Bridge Construction Project ([[Thanh Trì Bridge]]) as well as the building of the southern portion of Hanoi Ring Road No. 3.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-New-Partnership"/> Thanh Trì Bridge at the time of its opening was the longest among seven viaducts in the Hanoi area that connect both sides of the Red River.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-New-Partnership"/>

December 2003 saw the establishment of the ''Vietnam–Japan Joint Initiative'', which was created to make Vietnam more business-friendly for Japanese businesses.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-New-Partnership"/>

Japan gradually became Vietnam's single biggest donor country. In 2007, it pledged $US890 million in aid for the country, a 6.5 percent increase from the 2006 level of $US835.6 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vietnamlawmagazine.vn/news/donors-pledge-nearly-usd--billion-in-oda/6b54daec-dbe3-4e75-b2b0-a3293178a342.html |title=Donors pledge nearly USD 3.8 billion in ODA |access-date=3 May 2015 }}{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The ODA pledged for 2011 by Japan reached 1.76 billion [[US dollars]], which was four times larger than the donation from South Korea, Vietnam's second biggest donor, at 412 million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/politics/2502/int-l-donors-pledge--7-9-billion-for-vietnam-next-year.html|title=Int'l donors pledge $7.9 billion for Vietnam next year - News VietNamNet|access-date=23 July 2012|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111183151/https://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/politics/2502/int-l-donors-pledge--7-9-billion-for-vietnam-next-year.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Moreover, Japan's 2012 committed amount of donation to Vietnam raised to 3 billion dollars.

Bilateral cooperation on defense has been enhanced since the [[Haiyang Shiyou 981 standoff|Haiyang Shiyou 981 incident]] in 2014, as both countries have experienced territorial issues with China. In a speech in May 2014, Japanese Prime Minister [[Shinzo Abe]] affirmed that Japan would provide Southeast Asian nations its "utmost support" in their South China Sea territorial disputes. In March that year the leaders of Vietnam and Japan agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to be an "Extensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia", this new relationship promised to let both countries collaborate more closely with each other in a large number of fields including politics, economics, [[national security]], culture, and human exchange.<ref name="National-Archives-of-Japan-45th-Anniversary-New-Partnership"/>

In 2017 the [[Emperor of Japan|Japanese Emperor]] [[Akihito]] and his wife [[Empress Michiko]] visited [[Hanoi]].<ref name="War-History-Online-Akihito-2017"/> As a part of the official visit Emperor Akihito met with a number of war children that were abandoned after the war ended.<ref name="War-History-Online-Akihito-2017"/> After listening to the tearful stories, Emperor Akihito said that he understood that the abandoned families of the Japanese soldiers had suffered many hardships after the war.<ref name="War-History-Online-Akihito-2017"/>

On 19 October 2020, Japanese Prime Minister [[Yoshihide Suga]] visited his Vietnamese counterpart [[Nguyễn Xuân Phúc]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/a_o/na1/page3e_001069.html |date=20 October 2020 |title =Prime Minister Suga Visits Viet Nam and Indonesia | publisher =[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|MOFA, Japan]] |access-date=22 October 2020 }}</ref> and they agreed to cooperate on regional issues including the [[South China Sea]], where China's growing aggressiveness in disputed waters has drawn concern from neighboring states.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/10/19/national/politics-diplomacy/vietnam-japan-yoshihide-suga/ |date=19 October 2020 |title=Suga and Vietnamese PM meet, with focus on economic and defense cooperation | publisher =[[Japan Times]] |access-date =22 October 2020 }}</ref> Following Chinese Foreign Minister [[Wang Yi (politician)|Wang Yi]]'s high-profile visit to Vietnam in September 2021, Japanese Defense Minister [[Nobuo Kishi]] shortly followed afterwards with his visit, inking an accord to export Japanese-made defense equipment and technology to the Southeast Asian country and the two countries agreeing to boost cooperation amid China worries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Japan inks deal to export defense assets to Vietnam amid China worry|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Japan-inks-deal-to-export-defense-assets-to-Vietnam-amid-China-worry|access-date=2021-09-12|website=Nikkei Asia|language=en-GB|archive-date=11 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911215955/https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Japan-inks-deal-to-export-defense-assets-to-Vietnam-amid-China-worry|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 28 September 2022, on the occasion of the state funeral for [[Shinzo Abe]], Japan's former prime minister, in Tokyo, Vietnam's president [[Nguyễn Xuân Phúc]] was one of only seven heads of state which met with [[Emperor of Japan|Japanese Emperor]] [[Naruhito]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Emperor Naruhito, in a rare move, meets with 7 heads of state in one day |url=https://www.arabnews.jp/en/japan/article_81309/ |access-date=2022-10-13 |website=Arab News Japan |language=en}}</ref>

Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính attended the 49th G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan in 2023.

==Diplomatic missions==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
;Of Vietnam
*[[Tokyo]] (Embassy)
*[[Osaka]] (Consulate)
*[[Fukuoka]] (Consulate)
{{col-2}}
;Of Japan
*[[Hanoi]] (Embassy)
*[[Ho Chi Minh City]] (Consulate)
*[[Da Nang]] (Consulate){{col-end}}

=== Japan ambassadors to Vietnam ===
; Japan ambassadors to South Vietnam
# [[Yutaka Konagaya]] (1955–1957)
# [[Seishiro Ogawa]] (1957–1958, [[Chargé d'affaires]])
# [[Kanichiro Kubota]] (1958–1961)
# [[Tokichi Takano]] (1961–1963)
# [[Satoru Takahashi]] (1963–1966)
# [[Yoshihiro Nakayama]] (1966–1967)
# [[Morio Aoki]] (1967–1968)
# [[Hideo Kitahara]] (1968–1970)
# [[Fumihiko Togo]] (1970–1972)
# [[Yasuhiko Nara]] (1972–1975)
# [[Hiroshi Hitomi]] (1975, until the [[Fall of Saigon]])

; Japan ambassadors to the Republic of South Vietnam
# Hiroshi Hitomi (1975)
# [[Koji Watanabe (diplomat)|Koji Watanabe]] (1975–1976, [[Chargé d'affaires]])
# [[Tomio Uchida]] (1976, Chargé d'affaires)

; Japan ambassadors to North Vietnam
# [[Yukio Imagawa]] (1973–1976, [[Chargé d'affaires]])
# [[Takaaki Hasegawa]] (1976)

; Japan ambassadors to Vietnam
# Takaaki Hasegawa (1976–1979)
# [[Eijiro Noda]] (1979–1981)
# [[Atsuhiko Yatabe]] (1981–1984)
# [[Koichi Tsutsumi]] (1984–1986)
# [[Kagechiaka Matano]] (1986–1988)
# [[Kuniaki Asomura]] (1988–1991)
# [[Hiroyuki Yushita]] (1991–1994)
# [[Kazuo Ogura]] (1994–1995)
# [[Katsunari Suzuki]] (1995–1999)
# [[Takeshi Nakamura (diplomat)|Takeshi Nakamura]] (1999–2001)
# [[Ryuichiro Yamazaki]] (2001–2002)
# [[Norio Hattori]] (2002–2008)
# [[Mitsuo Sakaba]] (2008–2010)
# [[Yasuaki Tanizaki]] (2010–2013)
# [[Hiroshi Fukada]] (2013–2016)
# [[Kunio Umeda]] (2016–2020)
# [[Takio Yamada]] (2020–2024)
# [[Naoki Ito]] (2024–present)

=== Vietnamese ambassadors to Japan ===
; South Vietnam ambassadors to Japan
# [[Đinh Văn Kiểu]] (1955, [[Chargé d'affaires]])
# [[Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ]] (1955–1956)
# [[Bùi Văn Thinh]] (1956–1962)
# [[Nguyễn Huy Nghĩa]] (1963)
# [[Nguyễn Văn Lộc (diplomat)|Nguyễn Văn Lộc]] (1963–1965, Chargé d'affaires)
# [[Nguyễn Duy Quang]] (1965–1967)
# [[Nguyễn Phước Vĩnh Thọ|Vĩnh Thọ]] (1967–1970)
# [[Đoàn Bá Cang]] (1970–1972, Chargé d'affaires)
# [[Đỗ Vạng Lý]] (1972–1974)
# [[Nguyễn Triệu Đan]] (1974–1975, until the [[Fall of Saigon]])

; North Vietnam ambassadors to Japan
# [[Trần Đức Tuệ]] (1976, [[Chargé d'affaires]])
# [[Nguyễn Giáp]] (1976)

; Vietnam ambassadors to Japan
# Nguyễn Giáp (1976–1980)
# [[Nguyễn Tiến]] (1981–1984)
# [[Đào Huy Ngọc]] (1984–1987)
# [[Lương Mạnh Tuấn]] (1987–1988, Chargé d'affaires)
# [[Võ Văn Sung]] (1988–1992)
# [[Nguyễn Tâm Chiến]] (1992–1995)
# [[Nguyễn Quốc Dũng]] (1995–1999)
# [[Vũ Dũng]] (1999–2003)
# [[Lưu Văn Kế]] (2003, Chargé d'affaires)
# [[Chu Tuấn Cáp]] (2003–2007)
# [[Nguyễn Minh Hà]] (2007–2008, Chargé d'affaires)
# [[Nguyễn Phú Bình]] (2008–2011)
# [[Đoàn Xuân Hưng]] (2012–2015)
# [[Nguyễn Quốc Cường (diplomat)|Nguyễn Quốc Cường]] (2015–2018)
# [[Vũ Hồng Nam]] (2018–2022)
# [[Nguyễn Đức Minh]] (2022–2023, Chargé d'affaires)
# [[Phạm Quang Hiệu]] (2023–present)

== References ==
{{Portal|Japan|Vietnam}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Country study}}

== External links ==
{{wikibooks|Japan's Foreign Policy Toward Vietnam 1978-1992:Thesis}}
* [http://www.vnembassy-jp.org/en Embassy of Vietnam in Japan]
* [http://www.vn.emb-japan.go.jp/index.html Embassy of Japan in Vietnam] {{in lang|ja|vi}}

{{Foreign relations of Japan}}
{{Foreign relations of Vietnam}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Japan-Vietnam Relations}}
[[Category:Japan–Vietnam relations| ]]
[[Category:Bilateral relations of Japan|Vietnam]]
[[Category:Bilateral relations of Vietnam]]