Japan is one of the most significant foreign investors in Vietnam. However, information about trade compliance by Japanese firms in Vietnam remains scant. This study draws from a new survey of Vietnamese import and export enterprises in 2019, which includes both local and Japanese firms. It shows that Japanese firms are performing better than local firms in terms of trade compliance and regulation. They are also more likely to acknowledge the importance of public-private partnerships and the legal capacity of human force. However, the biggest concerns and obstacles of these actors are Vietnam’s specialized laws and regulations in the cross-border trade of goods. These findings offer important policy implications to enhance trade compliance for Vietnamese enterprises in general and Japanese FDI firms in particular.