The 50th Annual Japanese Speech Contest for Elementary School Students

On Sunday, March 2, the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, the Japanese American Association of Northern California (Hokka Nichi Bei Kai), and the Northern California Japanese Teachers’ Association, co-organized the 50th Japanese Speech Contest for Elementary School Students at the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California.
 
Twenty-nine elementary school students participated in this year’s contest, demonstrating their achievement of Japanese language studies and preparation for this contest. The audience included students’ family, friends, and teachers attending in support of the contestants. As a special treat, the speech contest participants also had the chance to meet and interact with EXPO 2025's official mascot, Myaku Myaku.

Judges from both divisions were impressed with the contestants’ Japanese language and communication skills and encouraged participants to apply their experience to further strengthen global friendship into the future.
 
The Consulate would like to extend our sincere congratulations to all of this year’s contestants and commend each of them on their hard work.

Photos courtesty of Hokka Nichi Bei Kai.

Category 1 (Contestants who come from homes where Japanese is not spoken)
1st Place:	Austin Yu (Sakura Gakuen) “Kendo & Me”
2nd Place:	Mattias Beltran (Rosa Parks Elementary School) “Listen to NHK World News”
3rd Place:	Kisei Kori (Clarendon Alternative Elementary School) “Karate and Me”
Special Recognition:	Vihaan Koolwal (Clarendon Alternative Elementary School) “What Hinduism Means to Me”
Special Recognition:	Tatsuo Langston Hendrix (Rosa Parks Elementary School) “My Great-Grandmother’s Story: A History We Must Never Forget”
Special Recognition:	Zara Chu (American International Montessori School) “Why I Want to Learn Japanese”
Special Recognition:	Simona Sannino (Kurumi Japanese Class) “My Cute Kiwi”
Special Recognition:	Suzuna Hernandez (American International Montessori School) “How to Take Care of the Plants”
Special Recognition:	Masato Kusumoto Martin (Rosa Parks Elementary School) “When I Went to Japan”

 

Category 2 (Contestants who come from homes where Japanese is spoken)
1st Place:	Isana Hunter (Rosa Parks Elementary School) “Isana’s Secret”
2nd Place:	Arina Guthikonda (American International Montessori School) “Trip to Okinawa to Experience Japanese Culture”
3rd Place:	Sakura Pak (Sakura Gakuen) “My Feeling”
Special Recognition:	Hiro Sasaki (Clarendon Alternative Elementary School) “Five Cool Things About Japan”
Special Recognition:	Soshiro Collins (American International Montessori School) “The Time I Met a Scorpion”
Special Recognition:	Arlo Isamu Daigle (Rosa Parks Elementary School) “My Favorite Jiu-Jitsu”
Special Recognition:	Sara Fahey (Sakura Gakuen) “A Stray Dog Cookie”

Category 3 (Contestants who come from homes where Japanese is not spoken)
1st Place:	Coral Webb (Rosa Parks Elementary School) “Avoiding Interment”
2nd Place:	Lanna Beltran (Rosa Parks Elementary School) “Escaping the War”
3rd Place:	Dries Han Vanholder (Clarendon Alternative Elementary School) “Cats: How My Wish Came True;
Special Recognition:	Ayden Punthulawan (Rosa Parks Elementary School) “My Mom’s Journey”
Special Recognition:	Eden Kent Harada (Sakura Gakuen) “Summer Break With Babachan”
Special Recognition:	Isis Kim (Clarendon Alternative Elementary School) “My Ballet Journey”
Special Recognition:	Zara Wayne-Hunt (Rosa Parks Elementary School) “My Hero Rosa Parks”
Special Recognition:	Brady Punthulawan (Rosa Parks Elementary School) “Challenging Life Under an Undocumented Status”

 

Category 4 (Contestants who come from homes where Japanese is spoken)
1st Place:	Kate Biner (Kurumi Japanese Class) “My Great Grandmother”
2nd Place:	Rian Abernethy (Kurumi Japanese Class) “What I discovered going to Japanese elementary school”
3rd Place:	Hana Fahey (Sakura Gakuen) “Conserve the Coral Reefs - What We Can Do While Living in Towns”
Special Recognition:	Daigo Perez (Rosa Parks Elementary School) “My Dream”
Special Recognition:	Arisa Watanabe (Clarendon Alternative Elementary School) “Shorinji Kempo”
Special Recognition:	Emi Shimazaki (Clarendon Alternative Elementary School) “My First Front Flip”

Mr. Hiroshi Dambara
Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco
Mr. Kenji Furushiro
Vice President, Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Northern California
Dr. Masahiko Minami
(Head Judge) President, Northern California Japanese Teachers’ Association
Mr. Tomokazu Morikawa
Japanese Language Teacher, George Washington High School
Mr. Matthew Hunter
Producer, Localization, VIZ Media, LLC