The Peace Boat arrives at the Halong International Cruise Port in the early morning of April 30th, 2025. Delegates aboard visit and explore Ha Long's beauties. (Photo: Truong Giang/VOV)

The song “Hello Vietnam” echoed through the deck of an international cruise ship by Japan-based international NGO, Peace Boat, who, since 1983, has worked to promote peace, human rights, and sustainability. Ha Long Bay is Peace Boat’s fourth stop this year.

Ms. Kuramori Terumi is a representative of 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nihon Hidankyo. "I am honored and grateful to be here on the 50th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Reunification. I can feel a sense of solidarity and harmony in Vietnamese people and I am deeply moved by it," she said. 

Ms. Kuramori Terumi, representative of 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nihon Hidankyo (Photo: Truong Giang/VOV)

Peace Boat Director and Co-Founder Yoshioka Tatsuya said he admires Vietnam’s struggles for national independence, as well as its people’s resilience and industriousness. Both Vietnam and Japan have felt and understood the pain of war, and Peace Boat’s visit to Vietnam presents an opportunity for the two countries to share their perspectives on and work together towards a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons. 

"Now, we are together here and we can have the time to share how we can hopefully achieve peace and a sustainable world. Let's discuss and let's create a concrete idea to go forward. War is unacceptable. We really have to achieve a peaceful world," according to Yoshioka Tatsuya.

Delegates from around the world sing "We are the world," a peace anthem written in 1985 by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. (Photo: Truong Giang/VOV)

Also on board were delegates from Vietnam, Japan, and other nations, who shared an admiration for Ha Long Bay’s peaceful beauty.