The struggles of Vietnamese applying for visas to European and North American countries are well documented and probably won’t be changing anytime soon. But it will soon be easier for Vietnamese to visit Japan as the island nation plans to ease its visa requirements for most ASEAN countries.
Yabai!
To increase tourism and celebrate the 40th year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, starting July 1, Japan will allow Vietnamese citizens to apply for short-term multiple entry visas (valid for 3 years) while Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia will have total visa exemption.
For Vietnamese, this means that once your Japanese visa is approved, you can use it for 3 years.
The move may be a reaction to diplomatic disputes between China and Japan - like many ASEAN countries, they are in conflict over ownership of islands in the East Sea.
The diplomatic row has resulted in less Chinese tourists visiting Japan so the country is now looking to its southern neighbors to pick up the slack.
Tokyo’s goal is to attract 1 million Southeast Asian tourists in 2013, and 2 million in 2016, up from 780,000 in 2012.
Edit: Our original source stated that Vietnam received complete Japanese visa exemption. But, according to the statement from Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this only applies to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia. The change has been reflected in the text above.
