Japanese scholar praises Vietnam’s political stability ahead of landmark 14th Party Congress

HANOI, Vietnam — The upcoming 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam will mark a "new step" in the country’s development, according to the rector of Vietnam-Japan University.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Professor Furuta Motoo identified national reconciliation and unity as the essential factors for the nation's continued progress.

Furuta described the Communist Party as the country’s political core, noting its decisive role in development and its responsiveness to the aspirations of the Vietnamese people. He said that political stability under the Party’s leadership has fostered a favorable environment for international investment and cooperation.

This stability also allows Vietnam to maintain its strategic autonomy despite a complex global geopolitical landscape, Furuta added.

The professor expressed optimism that the Congress will outline a clear roadmap for Vietnam to achieve its goal of becoming a high-income, developed nation by 2045. To further elevate its international standing, Furuta suggested that Vietnam should focus on developing its "soft power" through culture and education.

A recent interview with Professor Motoo Furuta, published by the state-run Vietnam News Agency, serves as a textbook example of Hanoi’s strategy to leverage foreign academic voices to validate state orthodoxy ahead of high-stakes political transitions. As the Rector of Vietnam-Japan University—a flagship bilateral project—Furuta’s commentary must be viewed through the lens of institutional cooperation. His core arguments regarding political stability, the central role of the Communist Party, and national unity are meticulously aligned with the official government line.

This strategic communication serves a dual purpose: reinforcing the Party’s mandate domestically while signaling to international markets that Vietnam remains a predictable environment for foreign direct investment (FDI). By framing the current leadership structure as a guarantor of reliability, the narrative seeks to insulate the country’s economic reputation from political volatility.

However, the analysis conspicuously omits the friction points currently defining the Vietnamese landscape. There is no mention of the systemic disruptions caused by the "Blazing Furnace" anti-corruption campaign, which has reached the highest levels of the Politburo, nor the mounting macroeconomic headwinds and the narrowing space for civil society. While the rhetoric emphasizes "national unity," it ignores the reality of internal dissent and the increasingly complex social contract between the state and its citizens.

For seasoned regional observers, such state-curated interviews offer little in the way of independent scholarship. Instead, they function as high-level signaling, part of a broader public relations offensive to project an image of continuity and control in the lead-up to the 14th National Party Congress.

The phrase “national reconciliation and unity” carries a heavy, multifaceted weight for the Vietnamese diaspora. For many, particularly the first generation who established enclaves like Little Saigon, the government’s proposal for reconciliation is often viewed as a one-sided proposition—a demand to accept the Communist Party’s leadership without any genuine acknowledgment of the historical and political divides that drove them abroad. While the community remains inextricably linked to the homeland through remittances, phở restaurants, and the intricacies of F2B or EB-5 visas, state-led rhetoric on unity is usually met with profound skepticism. To many, these calls feel less like a bridge and more like an insistence on moving forward without ever addressing the deep-seated grievances of the past.