In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Furuta said that he was highly impressed with the Vietnamese culture and people right on the first time he set foot in Hanoi in December 1974.
The culture of Vietnam is characterised by factors seeming to be contrary to each other but co-existing. The Vietnamese people's patriotism, demonstrated by their continuous struggles against foreign invaders, is a typical feature recognised by people around the world. They are also open to good factors of other countries’ cultures, which can be seen in the Southeast Asian nation boosting its integration into the world while bringing into play its national identity, he said.
At the national conference on culture held in 2021 to implement the resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong noted culture forms the spiritual foundation of society and the internal strength of the country, and that focus must be paid to building and developing culture, which means developing people with dignity and a good lifestyle and building a healthy cultural environment.
With regard to Vietnam’s goal of becoming a developed country by 2045 with importance attached to culture, Furuta perceived that if one country possesses a rich culture but its economy is underdeveloped, it will be hard for that country to maintain its culture. Meanwhile, if people in a developed and economically rich country are not spiritually satisfied, that society will also become unstable.
Given this, the viewpoint identified by General Secretary Trong is suitable for the current development period of Vietnam, the professor noted.
A new task set at the 13th National Party Congress is to develop cultural industries and perfect the cultural market, in which culture is developed comprehensively and harmoniously in relation to economic growth and social progress.
About the new task’s impact on the Vietnam - Japan relations, especially in cultural cooperation, he considered the building of an equal partnership in the future relationship between the two countries as critically important.
Furuta held that “soft power” will play an active role in the formation of equal partnerships among countries in East Asia, including Vietnam and Japan.
He expressed his hope that Vietnam will develop strong cultural industries to help promote its stature in the region and shape an equal partnership with Japan.
