Vietnam leader To Lam visits Japan as decades-old relationship evolves

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, left, shakes hands with Vietnamese Communist Party chief To Lam in Hanoi on May 2. Lam’s visit to Tokyo from Nov. 8 comes as the decades-old Japan-Vietnam relationship undergoes a shift in trade, investment, aid and people-to-people ties. © AP

ATSUSHI TOMIYAMA

November 8, 2026 16:24 JST

TOKYO — Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam arrived in Japan on Sunday against the backdrop of a bilateral relationship that looks very different from the one built over previous decades.