Vietnam - The ties that bind Vietnam and Japan

On the occasion of Japanese National Day on December 23, Viet Nam News speaks with Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yasuaki Tanizaki.

Could you share with our readers how Japan has handled the consequences that resulted from the tsunami and earthquake which hit Japan in March? How have reconstruction activities progressed in the disaster-hit area?

Ambassador Yasuaki Tanizaki Eight months have passed since the earthquake and the tsunami. The damage was enormous. Thousands of people were killed and left missing. The economic damage was also enormous, amounting to about US$200 billion. Immediately after the earthquake, about 450,000 people were forced to evacuate.

Lifelines, such as electricity, gas, water supply, have been almost one hundred per cent restored. The traffic infrastructure, such as highways and the shinkansen (bullet train), have been completely returned to normal operations.

We're now struggling to rebuild communities where the evacuees can live safely in the event of new natural disasters. The government is supporting the reconstruction of such strong communities.

During Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's visit to Japan in September, the two sides agreed to double two-way trade turnover by 2020, which reached US$16.7 billion last year. What more do you think should be done to reach the target?

I'm very optimistic about the target because during the last 10 years, bilateral trade between our two countries has increased tremendously, by about 3.4 times from $4.9 billion to $16.7 billion between 2000-10.

Many favourable conditions were created during this period. In 2007, Vietnam joined the World Trade Organisation.

In 2008, the Japan-Asean Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was entered into force. In 2009, the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement came into effect.

Those arrangements have been providing and will continue to provide very favourable conditions to increase overall trade. Coupled with government arrangements and efforts by the business communities from both countries, we're very optimistic about the target.

The Japanese business community is very much interested in increasing the import of Vietnamese products to Japanese markets and vice versa. Many Japanese investors are working here and they require imports such as spare parts in order to assemble their products here in Vietnam.

Japan committed $1.9 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds for Vietnam in 2012. Can you share with us why the commitment is higher than last year and how do you assess the implementation of Japan's ODA-funded projects in Vietnam?

In the last Consultative Group meeting, I announced the Japanese government's decision to provide at least $1.9 billion in ODA for this fiscal year. That's an increase compared to the previous year. We're going to finance very important projects such as: Hoa Lac High-tech Park, Lach Huyen Deep Sea Port, an important port near Hai Phong Highway and other important economic infrastructure will also be funded by Japanese ODA.

Concerning the implementation of Japan's ODA-funded projects, although there are some problems, in general we think that the Vietnamese government has been using the funds very efficiently and effectively.

The large commitment is the result of our existing strategic partnership. Vietnamese people require huge investment to construct their socio-economic infrastructure. We, as a partner, are ready to support Vietnam's nation-building.

Secondly, the stability of Vietnam is very important, not only to the country itself but also to this region. And this region is particularly crucial to Japan's national interest as well. Besides, the implementation of ODA-funded projects by the Vietnamese government was very successful. Compared with other countries, Vietnam has fewer problems in using ODA.

Economic infrastructure projects require relocating residents who live near project sites. It takes time to persuade them peacefully which consequently affects the schedule of ODA-funded projects. But we understand that it's necessary to take time.

The reimbursement of $1.9 billion will take two or three years to be completed. It depends on the progress of the construction.

The two governments signed a number of agreements on major construction projects for the Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plant. Could you share your country's experience in building and maintaining nuclear power plants? What lessons could be learned from the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant?

Because of the earthquake and the tsunami, the Fukushima nuclear power plant was damaged. We have learned and are now learning many lessons from that tragic incident. We have already reported what took place in that nuclear power plant to the International Atomic Energy Agency. That lesson must be shared by other countries, particular by Vietnam.

The tsunami damaged the cooling system. This Fukushima power plant was constructed about 40 years ago and judging from the technology today, it's very inadequate. And we didn't expect such high tsunami. We expected any tsunami to be about 10 metres, but it was about 30 metres.

We already organised one seminar to explain our experiences to those with concerns, including the representatives of Ninh Thuan Province. Based on those lessons, the Japanese government is ready to provide more secure technology in order to construct the Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plant. I can say that the safest technology will be used to construct the Ninh Thuan power plant.

Vietnam and Japan have kicked off the fourth phase of their joint initiative on improving the business environment. How has it progressed and what more do you think should be done to improve the business environment in Vietnam?

 With its abundant workforce and skilled workers, Vietnam is a very attractive market for potential Japanese investors. But when we look at the situation more precisely, there are problems which must be improved by the government.

These include the unstable supply of electricity. In addition, it's extremely difficult to recruit workers in areas near major cities, such as Hai Phong, Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Many Japanese investors have also been affected by the slow government approval procedure for their investment projects. It takes such a long time. Nowadays, businesses require quick government decisions.

In terms of the joint initiative on improving the business environment, we have also presented our list of requests to the government which include what actions must be done to improve the business environment.

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