05Jan2026
Latest News & Report / Vietnam Briefing
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Over the years, Japan has remained one of Vietnam’s leading strategic partners and the country’s third-largest investor, with FDI flowing strongly into electronics and electronic components, precision engineering, and supporting industries for automobiles and motorcycles. As a result, factory location selection has become a pivotal decision for operational efficiency and long-term expansion. This article examines the spatial distribution of Japanese firms across Vietnam’s key industrial parks, identifies the major industrial clusters that attract the highest concentration of Japanese businesses in the North and the South, and highlights the key factors shaping their location choices.
Overview of Vietnam’s Industrial Park System and Japanese Companies
Diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan were established in 1973 and have developed over more than 50 years. In November 2023, the two countries upgraded their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, providing a solid foundation for regional stability and prosperity. At the second dialogue in 2025 between the Prime Minister and Japanese businesses, Japan was reaffirmed its status as one of Vietnam’s largest investors. As of the end of July 2025, Japan had 5,608 active projects in Vietnam with total registered investment capital of USD 79.4 billion, ranking third among 151 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with notable projects such as the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Project, the Smart City project in Dong Anh District (Hanoi), and the Nghi Son 2 BOT thermal power plant project[1].
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs a dialogue with Japanese businesses
Source: Baochinhphu
Regarding industrial park supply, as of 2025 Vietnam has 478 established industrial parks, providing approximately 101.6 thousand hectares of industrial land. Of these, 324 industrial parks are already in operation with about 68 thousand hectares of industrial land, while 153 industrial parks are under development with around 32.6 thousand hectares expected to become available in the coming period[2]. In the first eight months of 2025, the average occupancy rate of operational industrial parks remained at 75%, with key provinces in the North reaching roughly 83% and the South about 92%[3].
Besides that, B&Company’s enterprise database reveals that by 2023, over 3,200 Japanese companies were operating in Vietnam, making up more than 15% of all FDI enterprises in the country. Notably, around 30% of these Japanese companies are located within industrial parks
Japanese companies in the industrial park by region in 2023
100% = 1,069 companies
Source: B&Company Enterprise Database
In terms of the composition of Japanese companies located in industrial parks by economic region, the distribution is heavily concentrated in two key growth poles: the Southeast (48%) and the Red River Delta (42%), which together account for roughly 90% of all Japanese firms in industrial parks. In contrast, the Central region and other areas represent only a small share (around 5% each), highlighting a clear disparity in investment attractiveness across regions.
Top 10 provinces with the highest concentration of Japanese companies in industrial parks in 2023






