Prof. Dr. Furuta Motoo is a veteran researcher on Vietnam, fluent in Vietnamese. Starting to research on Vietnam in the late 1960s, he has now become a leading expert on Vietnam studies in Japan. He is currently the President of the Japan - Vietnam Friendship Association; Rector of Vietnam - Japan University (Vietnam National University, Hanoi ). He is the author of many research books on Vietnam's historical issues and has been published in Vietnam in recent years.
The book “Vietnam - A view from Japan” consists of 10 chapters, with a scientific structure, rich content, covering quite comprehensively important aspects of Vietnam's history, economy and society. Through the book, readers can approach from the daily activities of Vietnamese people such as daily life, beliefs, language, communication culture... to macro issues such as the history of nation building, resistance wars against foreign invaders, political institutions, socio-economic development process, foreign relations and the role of Vietnam in the region. Typical lands such as the Mekong Delta, Northwest, Southeast or typical cities such as Hanoi, Hue, Ho Chi Minh City... are also described in detail through the author's senses and practical experiences.
In particular, the last chapter of the book focuses on analyzing the Vietnam-Japan relationship from the history of exchange and cooperation from the feudal period, through the years of war on the S-shaped land in the 20th century, to the current comprehensive development stage, showing the depth of thinking and goodwill of a Japanese scholar for Vietnam. What makes this book so attractive is the way Prof. Dr. Furuta Motoo skillfully combines academic analysis with everyday stories.
According to Prof. Dr., People's Teacher Vu Minh Giang, Chairman of the Council of Science and Training (Hanoi National University), Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Historical Science Association, writing about historical, political, social issues... spanning from prehistoric to modern times, with extremely rich, vivid, rich in identity and also very complex changes like Vietnamese history is an extremely difficult task, even for Vietnamese scholars with many years of research experience. "This is the first time I have seen a foreigner write about Vietnam so sincerely and deeply. The whole book is elaborate and attractive pages with a quite unique writing style", Prof. Dr. Vu Minh Giang expressed.
Prof. Dr. Vu Minh Giang also said that the book not only brings a new, objective perspective but is also rich in emotions and academic value. In particular, the interpretation of Ho Chi Minh's ideology and the changes in Vietnamese history appear vividly through the author's personal experiences and feelings.
“Vietnam - A Perspective from Japan” is the crystallization of more than half a century of attachment, research and companionship with Vietnam by Professor, Dr. Furuta Motoo. However, also from the perspective of a foreigner, there are some analyses, comments and assessments of the author on historical events, issues and historical figures that are subjective, different from the official viewpoint in Vietnam. Some data and historical events based on the author's collected documents are not entirely accurate. Respecting the author and giving readers more documents for reference and research, the Truth National Political Publishing House tries to keep some of the author's opinions intact and affirms that those opinions do not reflect the views of the Truth National Political Publishing House.
On this occasion, the Truth National Political Publishing House in collaboration with Sbooks organized the launch of the book “Vietnam: A View from Japan”, including an exchange and dialogue program with the authors, Prof. Dr. Furuta Motoo, Prof. Dr. Vu Minh Giang and readers, at 3:00 p.m. on July 18, in Hanoi.
Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/viet-nam-mot-goc-nhin-tu-nhat-ban-708760.html
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