Table tennis tournament looks to bind Vietnamese community in Japan

Addressing the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam said the number of Vietnamese people in Japan has been on the rise in recent years, forming the third largest overseas community in Japan.

The competition, the first of its kind, is expected to help embrace links between Vietnamese expatriates in Japan.

Attending the event were 32 athletes from Vietnamese representative agencies as well as Vietnamese students and guest workers from many cities and prefectures across Japan to compete in the men’s singles and doubles categories.

According to statistics from Japan’s immigration and accommodation management administration, by the end of June 2019, there were 371,755 Vietnamese people residing in Japan.

Notably, in recent years, the number of Vietnamese apprentices in Japan has surged to nearly 190,000, making up 51.67 percent of the total number of foreigners residing in the country as apprentices.