Second Great Unity Day in Fukuoka: A cultural bridge between Vietnam and Japan
WVR - The Second Great Unity Day of the Vietnamese Community Abroad in Fukuoka, Japan – 2026 continues the success of the inaugural season, aiming to build a space connecting the diaspora, preserving national identity, promoting integration, and spreading the image of Vietnam within Japanese society.
Latest
 |
| The Organizing Committee held a press conference to introduce the “Second Great Unity Day of the Vietnamese Community Abroad in Fukuoka, Japan – 2026 & Vietnam Cultural Day on November 24”. (Source: Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka) |
On October 18, at the Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka, Japan, the Organizing Committee launched and held a press conference to introduce the “Second Great Unity Day of the Vietnamese Community Abroad in Fukuoka, Japan – 2026 & Vietnam Cultural Day on November 24”.
With the theme “Great Unity – Integration – Preserving Vietnamese Culture – Looking Towards the Homeland”, the event is expected to take place over two days, November 14-15, in Fukuoka, gathering around 1,500-2,000 participants, including the Vietnamese community in the Kyushu - Okinawa region, representatives of associations, businesses, Vietnamese-Japanese families, and Japanese and international friends.
The program is organized by the Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka in collaboration with the Global Network for Teaching Vietnamese and Preserving Vietnamese Culture, the Vietnamese Association in Fukuoka, the Vietnam Trade and Investment Promotion Business Association in Kyushu - Japan, and the Vietnamese Women's Association in Kyushu - Japan.
The event is organized with the main hub at the Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka, connecting online with Vietnamese community hubs in seven provinces in the Kyushu region, creating a widespread space for meetings, exchanges, and responses from associations, businesses, and the diaspora.
The event aims to create a deep cultural-community space where the spirit of great national unity is expressed through practical activities, while also enhancing the role of the Vietnamese community abroad in connecting their homeland with the host country.
 |
| Consul Nguyen Thanh Trung, Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka, highly appreciates the initiative and efforts of the Organizing Committee. (Source: Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka) |
In his welcoming speech at the program, Consul Nguyen Thanh Trung, Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka, highly appreciated the initiative and efforts of the Organizing Committee, associations, businesses, and the Vietnamese community in the Kyushu region in continuing and developing the Second Great Unity Day.
Emphasizing the significance of the event for community work and Vietnam-Japan people-to-people exchanges, Consul Nguyen Thanh Trung affirmed:
“We highly appreciate the proactive spirit, responsibility, and collaboration of associations, businesses, and the diaspora in organizing the Great Unity Day. The success of the first season in 2025 demonstrated the cohesive strength of the Vietnamese community in Japan.
We hope that the 2026 Unity Day will continue to build on those results, not only as an occasion for people to meet, strengthen solidarity, and look towards the homeland, but also as a space to introduce Vietnamese culture and people, contributing to enhancing understanding and friendship between the two peoples.”
Consul Nguyen Thanh Trung also called on associations, organizations, businesses, families, and the entire Vietnamese community in Kyushu - Okinawa to continue to promote the spirit of unity, actively respond, contribute resources, and directly participate in the activities of the Unity Day.
He emphasized that the Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka always cares, accompanies, and facilitates practical community initiatives, contributing to building a united, strong Vietnamese community in Japan, positively integrating with the host society, while preserving national cultural identity and promoting the role of a bridge in Vietnam-Japan friendship relations.
From the mark of 2025 to a new development in community work
The year 2025 marked the first time the Great Unity Day of the Vietnamese Community Abroad was held in Fukuoka. The event became a meeting point for associations, businesses, families, and a large number of Vietnamese living, studying, and working in Japan.
With the companionship of the Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka and the collaboration of the community, the first festival left remarkable impressions, including setting two records.
However, the greatest value of the event lies not only in the scale of organization or the achievements recorded but also in its ability to gather, connect, and awaken the sense of responsibility of the Vietnamese community abroad.
From that success, the 2026 Unity Day is oriented towards expanding content, enhancing interaction, and improving cultural exchange effectiveness with the host society.
If the first season established a milestone for community convergence, the second season aims to create a space where Vietnamese people not only meet but also practice, transmit, and introduce the cultural values of the nation.
This approach also contributes to concretizing the Party and State's policy on promoting the resources of overseas Vietnamese, consolidating the great national unity bloc, preserving cultural identity, and enhancing people-to-people diplomacy in the new situation.
“Vietnamese Village in Fukuoka” – A cultural space connecting generations
The highlight of the 2026 Unity Day is the “Vietnamese Village in Fukuoka” model, built as a miniature Vietnamese cultural space, introducing the identity of regions and the cultural diversity of the 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam.
Through cultural camps organized by province, region, or theme, participants have the opportunity to learn about customs, traditional costumes, cuisine, local products, folk art, Vietnamese language, and stories about the homeland.
The spaces are expected to recreate cultural colors from the Land of the Hung Kings, Hanoi, the Quan Ho region of Bac Ninh to the Central region, Central Highlands, and Southern Vietnam, thereby introducing a culturally diverse Vietnam but unified in national identity.
Particularly, the program emphasizes the participation of the younger generation and multicultural Vietnamese-Japanese families. The “Vietnamese Village Passport” experience activity will encourage children and visitors to explore cultural camps, participate in games, learn Vietnamese, and receive commemorative stamps on their journey.
Not only creating a space to introduce culture, but this model also aims to encourage associations, families, and individuals to directly participate in content creation, becoming the subjects of preserving and spreading Vietnamese culture abroad.
Through interactive activities, bilingual introductions, and community exchanges, the festival is expected to bring Vietnamese culture closer to the Japanese public, enhancing understanding and connection between Vietnamese people and the host society.
 |
| The Great Unity Day in Fukuoka is a community activity that contributes to promoting the role of overseas Vietnamese as a bridge. (Source: Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka) |
Promoting the role of the diaspora in people-to-people diplomacy and Vietnam-Japan exchanges
In the context of Vietnam-Japan relations continuing to develop on the foundation of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia and the world, cultural exchange activities and community connections are meaningful in strengthening the social foundation of bilateral relations.
The Great Unity Day in Fukuoka is a community activity that contributes to promoting the role of overseas Vietnamese as a bridge, not only in maintaining ties with the homeland but also in promoting exchanges, cooperation, and understanding between the peoples of the two countries.
In addition to cultural activities, the program is expected to organize an opening ceremony, community parade, Ao Dai performance, Vietnam-Japan cultural exchange, and sports activities such as football, tug of war, sack race, and relay race.
The “Great Unity Kyushu, Japan 2026” football tournament continues to be identified as an activity connecting football teams, associations, and Vietnamese community groups in the locality. During the launch program on October 18, the Organizing Committee also introduced the tournament and held a draw for the group stage.
The combination of culture, sports, and community activities contributes to creating an open exchange environment, strengthening the bond between generations of Vietnamese people, while encouraging the participation of Japanese friends.
From the perspective of people-to-people diplomacy, the event also demonstrates the increasingly proactive role of Vietnamese associations in building a united, positively integrated community that is responsible to the host society.
 |
| The “Great Unity Kyushu, Japan 2026” football tournament continues to be identified as an activity connecting football teams, associations, and Vietnamese community groups in the locality. (Source: Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka) |
Great unity is not just a festival, but the strength of the community
Speaking at the launch program, Mr. Nguyen Duy Anh, Member of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Head of the Organizing Committee of the Festival, emphasised that the success of the 2025 event was created from the unity of associations, businesses, the community, and the companionship of the Vietnamese representative office in Fukuoka.
Mr. Nguyen Duy Anh shared: “No individual or organization can single-handedly create such a festival. Only when we stand together can we achieve great things.”
According to Mr. Nguyen Duy Anh, organizing the Second Festival is not to repeat the success of the previous year but to aim for new development, where the spirit of great unity is linked with the responsibility of preserving the Vietnamese language, culture, and national identity among generations of overseas Vietnamese.
He hopes that each association, each family, each business, and individual can contribute to the festival with specific actions, so the community can create a vibrant Vietnamese cultural space in the heart of Fukuoka.
Especially, he affirmed: “The Great Unity Day does not belong solely to the Organizing Committee, nor to the Consulate General, nor to any single association. This festival belongs to all of us.”
This message also reflects the consistent spirit of the 2026 program: “Each person contributes a piece of homeland.”
 |
| Mr. Nguyen Duy Anh, Member of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Head of the Organizing Committee of the Festival. (Source: Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka) |
The Great Unity Kyushu 2026 Football Tournament: Expanding connections, spreading the spirit of international friendship
In the framework of the launch program, the Organizing Committee introduced and conducted the draw for the “Great Unity Kyushu, Japan 2026” Football Tournament – one of the key sports activities of this year's festival.
Following the success of the previous season, the Great Unity Kyushu 2026 Football Tournament marks a new development in participation scope. Notably, besides the teams from the Vietnamese community in Japan, this year's tournament also welcomes teams from other countries, contributing to making the community sports playground a multicultural exchange space, enhancing connections and friendship among international communities living, studying, and working in Japan.
The draw was conducted openly and transparently, with the participation of team representatives, officially kicking off the journey of competition and exchange for the 2026 season.
Not only aiming for exciting matches, the Great Unity Kyushu Football Tournament also carries the message of unity, respect for differences, and the spirit of friendship. Through the common language of sports, players and supporters of various nationalities have the opportunity to meet, exchange, enhance understanding, and build close relationships in community life.
The expansion of participation also shows the development orientation of the Great Unity Day in Fukuoka: From connecting overseas Vietnamese to an open exchange space, contributing to enhancing people-to-people diplomacy, promoting the image of a united, friendly, integrated, and socially responsible Vietnamese community in the host society.
From community connection hubs in seven provinces in the Kyushu region to cultural and sports playgrounds with international friends' participation, the 2026 Great Unity Day continues to affirm the message: Great unity is not only the strength that binds Vietnamese people but also the foundation for building bridges of friendship, cooperation, and integration with friends worldwide.
 |
| Delegates attending the press conference took a group photo. (Source: Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka) |
Towards a community activity with sustainable impact
With the orientation of connecting great national unity, preserving culture, and international integration, the Second Festival in Fukuoka is expected to continue building a community activity model rich in identity, capable of promoting the participation of associations, businesses, and the younger generation of overseas Vietnamese.
Not only contributing to promoting the image of the country and people of Vietnam, the event also aims to nurture the love for the Vietnamese language, awareness of origin, and community responsibility, especially in families with second and third generations born and raised in Japan.
From the mark of the first season to the innovations of 2026, the Great Unity Day in Fukuoka carries a consistent message: No matter where they live, Vietnamese people are always a part of the Vietnamese national community; at the same time, through unity, responsibility, and positive integration, the diaspora can contribute to fostering friendship, understanding, and cooperation between Vietnam and international friends.
Therefore, the Second Great Unity Day is not only a reunion of those far from home but also an occasion for Vietnamese identity to be continued, solidarity to be nurtured, and the bridges of Vietnam-Japan friendship to be further expanded.
(Source: Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka)
