Japan on Monday officially secured support to help build two nuclear reactors in Vietnam, after the Fukushima crisis sparked heavy criticism of Japan's atomic industry.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Tan Dung, on a four-day visit to Japan, met his Japanese counterpart Yoshihiko Noda with the pair signing a joint statement to promote ties between the two countries, including the reactor project.

"The two sides recalled the decision by the government of Vietnam to choose Japan as the cooperation partner for building two reactors," the statement said.

"The two sides welcomed the progress made since the last summit meeting in October 2010 and the document to confirm such progress between the two governments regarding cooperation on the project," it added.

A year ago, then Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan announced with Dung that the two countries would join forces in the nuclear reactor project.

A 9.0-magnitude earthquake and monster tsunami on March 11 crippled the Fukushima plant's cooling systems and sparked reactor meltdowns, a series of explosions and the release of huge amounts of radiation into the environment.

According to the statement, the two premiers also agreed to launch their first joint development of rare earth minerals in Dong Pao, in Vietnam's northwest.

Mines in Dong Pao are rich in rare earths, 17 elements critical to manufacturing everything from iPods to low-emission cars .

Japan has looked to diversify rare earth supplies for its high-tech industries as China, which controls more than 90 percent of global supply, has tightened its export quotas.