Published:  08:41 Friday - November 18, 2016

The 2016 Japan – Việt Nam Festival, an event that aims to promote tourism between the two countries, begins today at the HCM City’s September 23 Park.

The three-day festival will feature cosplay, anime and manga, as well as Vietnamese and Japanese music and dance.

The highlight of the event will be music performances by artists like pop singer Hitomi Shimatani, singer and dancer Daichi Miura, traditional folk and contemporary music artist Takio Ito, girl band Pink Diamond, and a taiko (a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments) drumming troupe.

There will be a parade of Pikachu, the most popular character in the Japanese anime Pokemon, as well as a cosplay contest.

Talks on trade, agriculture, handicrafts, human resources, education, and the movie industry and culture will also be held.

More than 140 booths offering food, manga, games, clothes and souvenirs of Việt Nam and Japan will be set up.

Tsutomu Takebe, a special advisor to the Japan – Việt Nam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance, and head of the organizing committee, said the festival was expected to attract 180,000 young people from the city and neighboring provinces. — VNS