Japanese doctor appointed Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Aichi

Japanese doctor Nagato Natsume has been appointed Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Aichi prefecture in the Northeast Asian nation.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Quoc Cuong (R) presents the appointment decision to Japanese doctor Nagato Natsume.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Quoc Cuong (R) presents the appointment decision to Japanese doctor Nagato Natsume.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Quoc Cuong handed over the national flag, an emblem of Vietnam and the appointment decision to Nagato Natsume on April 8.

Also in attendance at the presentation ceremony were Chairman of the People’s Committee of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Thanh Phong, former Vietnamese Vice President Truong My Hoa, Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura, Mayor of Nagoya city Takashi Kawamura and other officials of the two countries.

Nagato Natsume, Director of the Japanese Cleft Palate Foundation and Secretary General of the International Cleft Lip and Palate Foundation, first came to Vietnam in 1992. He and the Japanese Cleft Palate Foundation have assisted clef lip and palate surgeries for Vietnamese children and carried out numerous charitable activities to help enhance the two countries’ relations.

Ambassador Cuong said the appointment is the Vietnamese State and Government’s recognition of the doctor’s contributions to their bilateral ties.

He expressed his hope that as the Honorary Consul, Nagato Natsume would continue helping to enhance the connections between Aichi and Vietnamese localities, as well as between Japan and Vietnam in general.

Natsume told Vietnam News Agency that, over the last 26 years, he has visited Vietnam 200 times and organised more than 4,000 cleft lip and palate surgeries in the country. He hopes that in the future, more Vietnamese people will come to work in Japan and more Japanese firms will do business in the Southeast Asian country.

He noted that the Vietnam-Japan relations are particularly close at present and he will exert every effort to contribute to the ties.

Also at the ceremony, Ambassador Cuong offered his congratulations on the establishment of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association in Aichi, which coincided with the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

He said the Japan-Vietnam relationship is at its best stage, demonstrated by the many mutual visits of their leaders, especially the visit to Vietnam by the Japanese Emperor and Empress in 2017. Locality-to-locality ties have also been strengthened, including between Aichi and HCM City.

The ambassador asked the friendship association to work harder to promote the relations between Aichi and Vietnamese localities and assist Vietnamese people in the prefecture.

For his part, Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura congratulated Natsume on his appointment and the association’s foundation, voicing his belief that these moves would contribute to the cooperation between Aichi and Vietnam.

He noted that 200 Aichi businesses are investing in Vietnam, while approximately 23,000 Vietnamese people are living in the prefecture.