At a ceremony in Fukushima to show support to Vietnamese team (Photo: VNA)Tokyo (VNA) – Fukushima always warmly welcomes andsupports Vietnamese athletes, stated Kohata Hiroshi, Mayor of the city, which the host town of the Vietnamese delegation during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
At a ceremony held by the locality to encourage the Vietnamesesport delegation, Hiroshi said that Fukushima chose to become the host town ofVietnam because he always feels "familiar" when thinking about Vietnam.
He highly valued the enthusiasm of Vietnamese people, especiallythose living in Fukushima. Along with close contacts between locals and the Vietnamese community, many Japanese firms based in Fukushima have had closerelations with Vietnam, he noted.
Meanwhile, Yasuo Shiraiwa, Chairman of the Fukushima-VietnamFriendship Association, showed a regret that he cannot directly support Vietnameseathletes at the stadium due to the Japanese government's COVID-19 prevention and control measures. He wished the Vietnamese team will show best performance.
Shiraiwa held that Fukushima’s acting as the host town of the Vietnamese delegationis significant in boosting people-to-people exchange between the two sides. Hesaid he believes that through sporting activities, the friendship between Vietnamand Japan as well as Fukushima in particular will be reinforced.
For his part, Bui Van Hoc, a representative from theVietnamese Association in Fukushima, wished Vietnamese athletes good health for the highest performance during the sport event.
The ceremony drew a large number of local officials andresidents who came to show support to Vietnam.
Located about 300km north east from Tokyo, Fukushima is the capital city ofFukushima prefecture. It has made careful preparations to receive the Vietnamesesport delegation coming to the city for training and exchanging on thethreshold of the Olympic and Paralympic Games./
VNA
