Ho Chi Minh City will host a series of activities featuring Japanese culture and education that will last for a month, starting on November 10.

The Month of Japanese Culture, part of the Japan-Mekong Year 2009, is co-organised by the Japanese Consulate in HCMC and relevant Vietnamese agencies, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Highlights of the programme will be performances by the Okinawa-Chura art troupe, Japanese films, and the Wa-daiko drum performance and robot show.

The Japan-Mekong Year is also celebrated through the Mekong-Japan Tourism and Culture Festival which will take place in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho from December 1-5.

During the festival, a symposium will be held on promoting sustainable tourism in the Mekong Delta, as well as a trade fair, a Mekong-Japan culture-tourism photo exhibition, and a Mekong-Japan traditional art exchange programme.

The Japan-Mekong Year 2009 is held under an initiative adopted at the Mekong-Japan Ministerial Meeting 2008.

In the context of steadily expanding relations between Japan and five Mekong sub-regional countries, more than 50 exchange activities are planned to take place in Japan, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Among those countries, Vietnam has received special attention from Japan in terms of cooperation and aid. Japan has devoted 50% of its ODA for Mekong sub-regional countries to Vietnam.