Takaichi signs six agreements with Vietnam, including on technology, agriculture and space, during a trip to Hanoi.
Published On 2 May 20262 May 2026
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says the country will boost ties with Vietnam, with a focus on energy and critical minerals.
Takaichi met her Vietnamese counterpart, Le Minh Hung, on Saturday in Hanoi, where they signed six agreements on issues ranging from infrastructure to agriculture to space cooperation.
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“The two sides identified economic security as a new priority area for bilateral cooperation,” Takaichi told reporters after the meeting.
“With regard to critical minerals … both sides agreed to strengthen close coordination to ensure stable supplies and reinforce supply chains,” she added.
Hung said the two leaders also “reaffirmed the importance of resolving disputes in the South China Sea through peaceful means based on international law”.
Japan and Vietnam share concerns about China’s territorial claims in the East and South China Seas, and both have sought to hedge against United States-driven trade disruptions by broadening economic and security ties.
Crude oil supplies
The push for deeper cooperation between the two states comes after new investment in Vietnam from Japan, one of its largest foreign investors, fell about 75 percent year-on-year to $233m in the first quarter, even as bilateral trade rose 12.3 percent to $13.7bn over the same period, according to Vietnamese government and customs data.
Vietnam has been seeking support from Japan and other countries for oil supplies as conflict in the Middle East drives prices higher and disrupts supply chains.
Under the $10bn Power Asia Initiative to support Asian countries’ energy self-reliance, Japan will assist in arranging crude oil supplies for Vietnam’s Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, Hung said.
Takaichi was also set to meet President To Lam, who is also the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, on Saturday afternoon and deliver a keynote speech at Vietnam National University, marking a decade since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe introduced Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” strategy.
HOUSTON — A Houston city ordinance that limited police officers’ cooperation with federal immigration agents was amended on Wednesday after Texas’ governor threatened to take away millions of dollars in public safety grants.
Houston, Austin and Dallas — three of the state’s biggest cities and Democratic strongholds — are being confronted by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott with threats of losing public safety dollars over policies that dictate how law enforcement interacts with federal immigration authorities. The three cities are being threatened with the loss of about $200 million in public safety funding, including tens of millions expected to cover security at World Cup matches this summer in Dallas and Houston.
Two weeks ago, the Houston City Council passed the ordinance, which eliminated a requirement that Houston police officers wait 30 minutes for agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pick up someone with a nonjudicial administrative warrant. If ICE agents didn’t show up in time, police officers took a detained person’s information and then released them.
But Abbott warned city officials that the new ordinance and its limitation on cooperating with ICE agents violated the terms of $110 million in state grants Houston had received for police and security during the World Cup games the city is hosting in June.
Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton had also filed a lawsuit against Mayor John Whitmire and members of the City Council over the ordinance, accusing them of violating a 2017 state law that prevents cities from adopting policies that limit the enforcement of immigration laws and that also banned “sanctuary city” policies in the state. There is no strict definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities, but the terms generally describe limited cooperation with ICE.
After more than two hours of discussion during its weekly meeting, the Houston City Council voted 13 to 4 to make changes to the ordinance. Whitmire said he had consulted with Abbott’s office about making changes that would prevent Houston from losing its funding.
The amended ordinance deletes language that highlighted that administrative warrants — versus warrants signed by a judge — that ICE agents use to take individuals into custody are not enough for officers to arrest or detain an individual.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire speaks during a City Council meeting on Wednesday.
(Raquel Natalicchio/AP)
“We have no alternative for Houston to survive, prepare for [the World Cup], patrol these neighborhoods,” Whitmire said. “We’ve got to have today the restoration of the $114 million.”
Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, said the governor expects any policy Houston police adopt has to comply with the city’s certification that it will fully cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security.
“This vote is a step in the right direction after Houston leaders put public safety at risk with reckless policies that undermined law enforcement,” Mahaleris said in a statement.
Councilmember Abbie Kamin, one of three members who had pushed for the ordinance, voted against amending it, saying that doing so was giving in to bullying tactics from state leaders.
“If we roll over now to a bully, what will he come for next?” Kamin said.
Councilmembers Edward Pollard and Alejandra Salinas, who also pushed for the ordinance, said they remained hopeful the changes approved Wednesday would not violate individuals’ constitutional rights and wouldn’t result in people being held on nonjudicial warrants.
Nikki Luellen, an advocate for criminal justice reform for the ACLU of Texas, called the amended ordinance “a green light for deeper collaboration between ICE and the Houston Police Department.”
Martha Castex-Tatum was one of several council members who had supported the ordinance but voted in favor of amending it in order to protect the city’s finances.
“For some people, this may feel like surrender. It’s not. It’s real stewardship,” Castex-Tatum said.
Dallas officials have said they are committed to ensuring public safety.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a moderate Democrat, said the local policy complies with state law. He said Abbott’s threat to cut nearly $3 million in Austin would cut trauma aid for police officers and sexual assault victims.
“We don’t have the time and will not play into this political theater,” Watson said.
Austin officials have since indicated they could try to negotiate with Abbott.
The debate in Houston and other Texas cities comes during fraught times. Whitmire and other local leaders in many of Texas’ left-leaning urban areas have tried not to draw the federal government’s attention amid the aggressive immigration crackdown by President Trump’s administration.
Lozano writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Jim Vertuno in Austin contributed to this report.
President of Vietnam and General Secretary of the Communist Party To Lam (2-R) and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly (R), South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (2-L) and his wife Kim Hea Kyung (L) pose for a group photo at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, 22 April 2026. President Lee is on a state visit to Vietnam from 21 to 24 April 2026. Photo by LUONG THAI LINH / EPA
April 22 (Asia Today) — South Korean President Lee Jae-myung held summit talks with Vietnam’s top leader on Tuesday to strengthen cooperation in nuclear energy, infrastructure and supply chains, as both countries seek to navigate rising global uncertainties.
Lee met with To Lam in Hanoi during a state visit, where the two sides discussed expanding strategic cooperation across key sectors, including energy security and critical minerals.
The talks come as prolonged conflict in the Middle East heightens concerns over global energy supply disruptions, prompting both countries to pursue more resilient and diversified supply chains.
South Korea and Vietnam, each among the other’s top three trading partners, agreed to deepen cooperation not only in trade and investment but also in nuclear power, infrastructure, defense and other strategic industries.
The two countries have set a goal of increasing bilateral trade from $94.6 billion in 2025 to $150 billion by 2030.
Lee is expected to express support for South Korean companies seeking to participate in major Vietnamese infrastructure projects, including a new urban development project valued at about 1.1 trillion won ($740 million) and a new airport project estimated at 102.7 billion won ($69 million).
The leaders are also expected to discuss expanding cooperation in science and technology, climate response, artificial intelligence semiconductors and cultural industries, as well as boosting people-to-people exchanges such as tourism.
Ahead of the summit, Lee said relations between the two countries had reached a “comprehensive strategic partnership” following the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2022.
“Through this visit, we aim to further develop our highest-level cooperation into a more future-oriented and strategic partnership,” Lee said during a meeting with Korean residents in Vietnam.
Lee also paid tribute at the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh before the summit and is scheduled to attend a state banquet hosted by the Vietnamese leadership.
On Wednesday, Lee is expected to meet Vietnam’s prime minister and National Assembly chair, and attend a business forum with executives from major South Korean conglomerates, including Lee Jae-yong, Chey Tae-won and Koo Kwang-mo.
South Korean Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul (L) and U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Stephen Koehler (R) hold talks in Seoul on Wednesday. The two were also set to meet with Japan’s top naval commander for trilateral talks on strengthening maritime cooperation. Photo courtesy of South Korea Navy
Top naval commanders of South Korea, the United States and Japan gathered in Seoul on Wednesday to hold a series of talks aimed at strengthening their trilateral maritime security cooperation, the South’s Navy said.
The gathering brought together Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Stephen Koehler and Adm. Akira Saito, chief of staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, for bilateral talks and a trilateral dinner meeting, according to the armed service.
The meetings came amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, raising speculation over whether their talks would address the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
U.S. President Donald Trump earlier called on South Korea, Japan and others to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help secure shipping lanes.
In the bilateral talks between Kim and Koehler held earlier in the day, both sides exchanged opinions on the robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture as well as cooperation in the area of naval maintenance, repair and operations, the Navy said.
Kim and Saito, meanwhile, held in-depth discussions on expanding personnel exchange and resuming joint maritime search and rescue exercises (SAREX) as discussed in a ministerial meeting between their defense chiefs earlier this year, it added.
In January, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, met in Japan and agreed to resume joint SAREX drills for the first time in nine years as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation.
The top admirals of the three countries were set to attend a dinner meeting later Wednesday to likely discuss trilateral coordination measures to respond to and deter North Korea‘s advancing nuclear and missile threats.
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