In 2005, I was fortunate to meet Dang Van Viet, a revered elder, in Hue, where he had come from Hanoi to join the 60th anniversary of the Frontline Youth School. There, I learned that he was the one who, together with a comrade, raised the red flag with the yellow star over the Phu Van Lau (Phu Van Pavilion) flagpole on August 21, 1945-when the August Revolution had yet to break out, Japanese forces were still armed, and the Nguyen dynasty still stood in the imperial capital of Hue.

On September 10, Chairman of Phu Xuan Ward People’s Committee Nguyen Viet Bang chaired the official and courtesy meeting with Kyoto Environmental Activities Association (KEAA) - Japan, led by Mr. Tatsuro Niikawa, KEAA’s Chairman.

On September 2nd, the Economic Security Division of Hue City Police reported that it had returned a lost mobile phone to Ms. Mii Uchino (born in 1999, Japanese nationality, a student at University of Tsukuba currently attending a seminar at Hue University).

On August 26th, at the Roppongi outlet of Matsuya restaurant chain, an event was held to launch a menu featuring “Pork rice in the style of Vietnamese com tam (Broken rice)”.

A team of experts from Japan, in collaboration with the Faculty of History (University of Sciences, Hue University), is conducting a survey of the Thanh Loi National Relic Site, located in Thuy Xuan Ward, Hue City.

On July 31st, a delegation from Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, including 16 high school students along with representatives from Okinawa Prefectural Government and Japan Overseas Cooperative Association (JOCA) Okinawa Office, arrived in Hue City to participate in a cultural exchange and homestay program as part of the “OIC Youth’s 2025” program. This event is one of the key activities under the Japan-Hue 2025 Homestay and Cultural Exchange Program.

Hue and Nara, both are former Ancient Capitals of Vietnam and Japan respectively, are strengthening their cooperative ties amid a global trend shifting toward “local cooperation for global benefit”. This marks the emergence of a new, profound model of partnership, rooted in concrete development goals that place people and heritage at the center.

On July 7, Hue College held a ceremony to sign cooperation agreement with the Global Association for Human Resources Training in Early Childhood Education in Japan.

On the afternoon of June 11th, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairman of Hue City People's Committee, Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, met and held a working session with Mr. Kobayashi Yosuke, the newly appointed Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam.

On the morning of June 6th, a signing ceremony took place between the Department of Construction of Hue City and the Public Works Bureau of Osaka City, Japan, to formalize a discussion minute on technical cooperation in the field of drainage and wastewater treatment. Vice Chairman of Hue City People's Committee Hoang Hai Minh attended and witnessed the signing ceremony.