On August 11, in Tokyo, the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association held the "Vietnam Dioxin Day 2025" to respond to the Day for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin in Vietnam (August 10).
This is an annual activity of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association, initiated in 2011 and maintained almost continuously every year, interrupted only in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the theme “The Vietnam War ended 50 years ago but the consequences of Agent Orange still linger today”, the 14th Vietnam Dioxin Day in Japan has two parts: part one is a documentary film made by Japanese filmmakers about the life of Duc, the famous boy in the successful separation surgery of the Viet-Duc twins in 1988 in Vietnam and part two is a presentation delivered by journalist Nakamura Goro about Vietnam.
The documentary “Little Boy Duc – The love that connects Fuji Mount and Cherry Blossoms” by director Kohei Kawabata tells the story of Nguyen Duc, the younger brother of the conjoined twins Viet-Duc, who are victims of Agent Orange sprayed by the US Military in Vietnam during the war.
Besides featuring Duc's strong will and determination to overcome the pain caused by his illness to live a positive, active life and inspire people, the film also talks about the consequences of Agent Orange in Vietnam that many people of the country are still affected to this day.
Japanese audiences were so moved to see the image of an active Duc in his daily life and the image of the children who were victims of Agent Orange being cared for in hospitals or special care centers.
The Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association held “Vietnam Dioxin Day 2025” in Tokyo to respond to the Day for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin in Vietnam.
The second part of Vietnam Dioxin Day in Japan was a presentation made by Mr. Nakamura Goro, a famous Japanese journalist who has held many photo exhibitions in Japan and around the world on the consequences of Agent Orange in Vietnam.
He has taken tens of thousands of photos of the consequences of Agent Orange in Vietnam since 1976, and opened his own exhibitions in Japan, the US, and South Korea with the desire to convey to the world the tragedy of Agent Orange that the Vietnamese people are suffering.
According to journalist Nakamura, the Agent Orange disaster in Vietnam has many things in common with the atomic bomb disaster in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945.
However, the tragedy of Agent Orange in Vietnam is almost unknown in the world, including the American people.
Journalist Nakamura said he decided to open photo exhibitions in California and New York when he knew that Americans were completely unaware of the Agent Orange disaster that the US military caused in Vietnam.
During the 14th Vietnam Dioxin Day in Japan, journalist Nakamura showed photos of Vietnamese Agent Orange victims and talked about the losses and pain that still linger to this day.
General Secretary of the Vietnam Dioxin Day Committee in Japan, Mr. Yoshiro Suzuki, shared that 50 years have passed, Vietnam has restored its war-torn country and has also developed its economy strongly. However, the Agent Orange that the US military sprayed during the war still causes serious consequences in Vietnam to this day.
Suzuki said that according to statistics of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), there are currently 2.3 million foreign workers in Japan, 570,000 of which are Vietnamese, mostly of whom are young ones.
He said that holding exchanges as well as support activities for young Vietnamese people studying and working in Japan is very necessary.
The 14th Vietnam Dioxin Day in Japan ended with applause from Japanese friends expressing their sympathy for a resilient Nguyen Duc and Agent Orange victims in Vietnam.
Secretary General of the Vietnam Dioxin Day Committee in Japan, Mr. Yoshiro Suzuki, affirmed that the Vietnam Dioxin Day will be held annually in Japan with the aim to further inform Japanese people about the Agent Orange issues and at the same time share with Agent Orange victims in Vietnam.
Source: Vietnam’s People Army Newspaper
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