Japan, 22 February 2026 – Alongside her impressive run of form with Gunma Green Wings, Tran Thi Thanh Thuy has continued to gain significant recognition in Japan, not only for her performances on the court but also for her growing influence as a cultural and commercial ambassador.
This year’s Vietnam–Japan Cultural Festival, organized by the Japanese government and hosted in Gunma Prefecture, selected Thanh Thuy as the official ambassador of the event. The choice was hardly surprising, given her popularity and positive image within the local community.
Gunma is currently home to more than 16,000 Vietnamese residents, making Vietnamese people the largest foreign community in the prefecture. Through her club, Gunma Green Wings, Thanh Thuy has actively promoted the festival in recent days. Promotional video clips featuring the Vietnamese star have been widely shared across Japanese social media platforms, helping boost visibility for the cultural exchange program.
In a notable gesture of support, the organizers of Japan’s SV League even allowed Gunma Green Wings to skip this week’s league fixtures so that Thanh Thuy could focus on her ambassadorial duties.
Her influence now extends beyond Gunma and into the wider SV League. The league recently organized auctions for jerseys signed by the Vietnamese volleyball star. While jersey auctions are common in professional sports, the MVP jersey from the All-Star match holds special value.
At the end of January, Thanh Thuy was one of 28 top players selected for the prestigious All-Star event. She delivered an outstanding performance and was named MVP of the match, surprising many with her dominant display among the league’s elite players.
Her signed MVP jersey was initially auctioned at a starting price of 8,000 yen (approximately 1.4 million VND). Due to strong demand, the SV League has already held three auction rounds, with the price of each signed Thanh Thuy jersey rising to 15,000 yen (around 2.7 million VND).
Through both her sporting excellence and her growing commercial appeal, Tran Thi Thanh Thuy continues to strengthen her reputation in Japan, serving as a proud representative of Vietnamese volleyball on the international stage.
VSN/RPT
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