As part of its working visit to Japan, the Thai Nguyen Province delegation specializing in tea, headed by Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan, Vice Chairwoman of the Thai Nguyen Provincial People’s Committee, together with leaders of provincial departments and agencies, businesses and cooperatives in the tea sector, paid a working visit to Shiga Prefecture. This was Thai Nguyen Province’s first specialized working mission to Japan in the field of tea, aiming to learn from tea industry development experience, connect with partners, and explore new directions for future cooperation.
In Shiga Prefecture, the delegation held an effective working program with specialized agencies and representative tea enterprises. The delegation visited and worked with Maruyasu Tea Co., Ltd., a long-established tea company in Koka City, and also worked with the Tea Industry Guidance Center of Shiga Prefecture. Receiving the delegation at the Center were Ms. Kayoko Ishida, Director of the Industrial and Commercial Policy Division of Shiga Prefecture; Mr. Nobuyoshi Kokubo, Director of the Tea Industry Guidance Center of Shiga Prefecture; and representatives of relevant organizations.
Figure 1. The Thai Nguyen Province delegation and the Consul General visit a tea cultivation area in Shiga Prefecture.
During the program, the delegation was briefed on the development history of the tea industry in Japan in general and in Shiga Prefecture in particular, as well as the cultivation, care, harvesting, production, and processing of tea under Japanese standards. The delegation also directly observed tea fields, harvesting machinery, processing lines, and automation processes in tea production. The practical experience gained in Shiga showed that the application of modern technology, mechanization, and automation is an important direction for improving productivity, quality, and the value of tea products. These are also practical suggestions for Thai Nguyen as it modernizes its tea industry, develops higher value-added products, and enhances the competitiveness of Vietnamese tea.
Figure 2. The Thai Nguyen Province delegation and Consul General Nguyen Truong Son observe the tea processing process.
After the working program in Shiga Prefecture, the Thai Nguyen delegation held a meeting with the Consulate General of Viet Nam in Osaka and Professor Ueda Yoshiaki, Chief Representative of the Japan-Viet Nam Economic Exchange Center. At the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on the development potential of Viet Nam’s tea industry, including Thai Nguyen tea, especially in areas such as research on matcha raw materials, deep processing, development of new tea-based products, and expansion of the domestic consumer market. Thai Nguyen Province also cordially invited Professor Ueda Yoshiaki and Japanese enterprises to attend the Thai Nguyen Tea Festival, scheduled to be held in November 2026.
Figure 3. The Thai Nguyen Province delegation meets with Consul General Nguyen Truong Son and Professor Ueda at the Consulate General of Viet Nam in Osaka.
At the meeting, the Thai Nguyen delegation highly appreciated the active support and cooperation of the Consulate General of Viet Nam in Osaka, directly led by Consul General Nguyen Truong Son and the Viet Nam Trade Office Branch in Osaka, in coordinating with METI-Kansai, the Shiga Prefectural Government, specialized agencies, and Japanese enterprises to build a suitable, effective, and substantive working program. As a bridge between Vietnamese localities and Japanese partners, the Consulate General of Viet Nam in Osaka has made an important contribution to promoting local-level external relations, economic cooperation, scientific and technological cooperation, and the introduction of Thai Nguyen’s image and potential in the Kansai region.
The specialized tea working mission of Thai Nguyen Province to Osaka and Shiga achieved many practical results, opening up new directions for cooperation in tea industry development, especially in technology application, deep processing, new product development, and enhancement of brand value. This is an important foundation for Thai Nguyen Province to continue promoting concrete cooperation activities with Japanese partners in the coming time.