Association of Vietnamese Intellectuals in Japan established

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The newly-elected executive board at the event. Photo: VNA

The Association of Vietnamese Intellectuals in Japan (AVIJ) was established during a founding congress in Tokyo, Japan, on November 14.

Its executive board for the 2019 – 2021 tenure was elected with nine members, including Dr. Le Duc Anh and post graduate Pham Van Long from the University of Tokyo as Chairman and Secretary General, respectively.

The board agreed on the action plan for the near future, including focusing on successfully holding the Vietnam Intellectual Forum in Japan 2019 themed “Make in Vietnam: Opportunities and Challenges”.

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam said the asociation will connect Vietnamese intellectuals in Japan together to create a collective power, stressing that there are numerous excellent intellectuals in the Vietnamese community in Japan and their coordination with agencies in the homeland will create greater collective strength for Vietnam’s development.

He also pledged all possible support for AVJI to contribute to Vietnam’s socio-economic development as well as Vietnam – Japan friendship.

AVIJ Chairman Le Duc Anh said the asociation will serve as a bridge to create cooperation opportunities for individuals and collectives, adding that, AVIJ will focus on hosting the first forum featuring Vietnamese intellectuals in Japan, which aims to connect and create a venue for Vietnamese intellectuals in the country to discuss problems facing Vietnam in implementing the “Make in Vietnam” strategy.

In addition, the association is also trying to build innovation centres to help strengthen science-technology exchange between Vietnam and Japan.

According to the Immigration Bureau of Japan, there were over 371,000 Vietnamese people living in Japan as of the late June 2019, becoming the third largest foreign community behind China and the Republic of Korea. More than half of them are scientists, researchers in universities and institutes and experts at Japan’s leading firms, as well as entrepreneurs in various fields.

Recently, many independent organisations like the Vietnamese Academic Network in Japan (VANJ), the Vietnamese Professionals in Japan (VPJ) and the Vietnamese Youth and Student Association in Japan (VYSA) have been established, requiring a joint forum to enhance connection, thus giving measures for developing the Vietnamese community in Japan, and contributing to the homeland’s development./.