Vietnam has promised to work with Japan to crack down on Vietnamese shoplifters in the East Asian country.

In November, Japanese police arrested members of Vietnamese shoplifting groups that allegedly stole a huge amount of products from drugstores. They're suspected of shipping the cosmetics and pharmaceutical items to Vietnam for resale.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang pledged cooperation to tackle the problem on Thursday.

She said the ministry has instructed relevant Vietnamese institutions in Japan to work closely with Japanese authorities to tackle the problem.

Japanese police have identified two Vietnamese whom they suspect have been masterminding the looting spree. The pair are thought to have used communication apps to tell the group's members what items to steal.

Japanese cosmetics are popular in Vietnam because of their high quality. The country's authorities have been clamping down on fake products -- pushing up demand for the real thing.