Japan assists Vietnam in developing large-scale infrastructure   Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko and Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Keiichi Ishii has expressed Japan's readiness to work together with Vietnam to develop the infrastructure system. Meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung in Tokyo during his visit to Japan from November 15-16, Minister Keiichi Ishii said Japan is willing to support Vietnam in carrying out the North – South high-speed railway project and hopes the Southeast Asian country will use Japanese technologies to build urban railway lines. Japanese businesses want to become involved in the construction of Long Thanh international airport and Ben Thanh underground trade center in Ho Chi Minh City. Minister Hiroshige Seko expressed his desire to bolster coordination with Vietnam to build coal-fueled high-capacity thermal power factories and import liquefied natural gas. Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung proposed Japan offer more official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam in the fields of energy, climate change adaptation, support industry, and large-scale infrastructure building, especially for key national projects such as the North-South railway, and an expressway connecting Hanoi and the Lao capital city of Vientiane. He also suggested the Japanese side assist Vietnam in training high-quality human resources, particularly in construction and transport, while sharing experience in management and operation of high-speed and urban railway systems. During his stay in Japan, the Deputy PM visited the human resources training center of Tokyo Metro, the largest subway company in Japan. Currently, the company is collaborating with Hanoi and HCM City to carry out urban railway projects using Japanese technologies. It will open training courses for Vietnamese railway staff in the time ahead. VOV