In both countries, production of japonica rice, which is the same short-grain variety as that produced in Japan, has been expanding amid a boom in washoku Japanese cuisine.

The 27th ASEAN-Japan Summit was held on 10 October 2024 in Vientiane, Lao PDR. The Summit was chaired by H.E. Mr. Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The Summit was attended by ASEAN Member States, H.E. Mr. Ishiba Shigeru, Prime Minister of Japan, as well as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste as Observer. The Secretary-General of ASEAN was also in attendance.

The 39th meeting of the ASEAN-Japan Forum was held in Bangkok on June 25th.

With a thriving seafood processing industry and many high-quality processing plants, Việt Nam has been chosen by Japanese enterprises for partnership in processing products for export to various markets such as the US and ASEAN countries. according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF).

Japan is the partner that has signed the most bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with Vietnam which open up many opportunities for stronger trade cooperation between the two nations, according to Tran Quang Huy, Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Asia-Africa Market Department.

Japan is a market with a large demand for imported agricultural, forestry and fishery products. This is also a potential market for Vietnamese agricultural products to expand in the coming time.

The aim is to build a system to circulate resources in Southeast Asian countries and diversify Japan’s suppliers, by utilising used electronic devices, which contain copper and rare metals.

Japan will work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members to promote the digital processing of import-export activities in an effort to facilitate bilateral trade, Nikkei Asia reported.

• On August 1st, 2020, the first protocol to amend the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) between Japan and five members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), consisting of Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam came into effect. • The AJCEP came into force in December 2008 and covers trade in goods and services, investment, and economic cooperation. • The protocol adds provisions concerning trade in services, movement of business people and investments, and is expected to strengthen reciprocal economic ties in wide-ranging fields between Japan and ASEAN countries.

A revised free-trade pact between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) facilitating the cross-border flow of services and investment came into force on Saturday.