The Vietnam-Japan Special Friendship Ambassador, Ryotaro Sugi has decided to sponsor 10 more Vietnamese children from Birla Children's Village in Hanoi, bringing the number of children he has helped over the years to100 children since starting 28 years ago.

Ryotaro Sugi, 71, is a well-known actor and singer in Japan has special feelings for Vietnam. He has helped 90 children since his first visit to Vietnam since 1988. During to visit to Vietnam in May, Sugi said he decided to sponsor 10 more in July.

Ryotaro Sugi has sponsored 90 children from Birla

Even though Sugi has visited Vietnam dozens of times in the past 28 years, he still shows his excitement when returning to the country. The children at Birla Children's Village welcomed him on May 14. Bearing gifts, Sugi called himself father to all the children and has given both psychological and material support to them. Not only did he upgrade the equipment but he also helped pay for the children's tuition, daily expenses and treatments costs for ill children who had heart diseases or cancer.

"I hope you will study hard so that you can find work in Japan in the future. The more I see all of you in Japan, the happier I am," he said.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga, a Japanese Language Teacher, was also raised at Birla and met Sugi since she was only nine years old.

Sugi said, "When I gave Nga sweets, she didn't eat it but only held it in her hands. I asked her why you hadn't eaten, she told me that she only want to have mum and dad. And I decided to be a father to Nga and all the children there."

Thanks to Sugi's help, Nga has a bachelor degree in Vietnam and went to Japan to learn the language.

Sugi has been visiting the children at Birla at least once every year. According to Sugi, the children did not have parents' love so he wants to give them at least a father's affection and warmth.

Sugi gives gifts to the children

Chu Dinh Hiep, Birla's director, said over 500 children had grown up and had their own families. Many of them learned Japanese and have been employed at Japanese firms in Vietnam.

To promote Vietnam-Japan relationship, Sugi established the Japan-Viet Nam Cultural Exchange Association in 1991 and Japanese Language Centre in Hanoi in 1995. He was appointed as Viet Nam-Japan Special Friendship Ambassador in 2005.

He is the first Japanese who was awarded with Friendship Medal in Vietnam in 1997 and also the first to be awarded a title as honorary citizen in the capital in 2014.