The event was attended by Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam and Mayor of Higashi Hiroshima City Takagaki Hironori.
The south-central region consists of nine provinces, withHiroshima considered as its centre, and is one of the five biggest economic regions in Japan with many companies investing in Vietnam.
At the ceremony, Associate Professor Tran Dang Xuan from Hiroshima University was elected the first President of the Association for 2019-2022 tenure.
Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador Vu Hong Nam said that the number of Vietnamese people in Japan has reached 350,000; therefore, the formation of OV Associations in the country is inevitable.
He expressed his hope that the OV Association in the south-central region will join hands with the local government, Vietnamese Embassy and friendship organisations to further enhance the economic and cultural exchange between the two countries as well as hold many activities promoting the image of the land and people of Vietnam to Japanese people.
The Association should encourage and support Vietnamese people in Japan to comply with the laws of the host country and stabilise their lives, he added.
On the occasion, the OV Associations in the Japanese capital city of Tokyo and the provinces of Aichi and Hokkaido have been established, organising numerous significant activities.
