The 42nd Annual Japanese Speech Contest

The Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco and the Japanese American Association of Northern California (Hokka Nichibeikai) held the 42nd Annual Japanese Speech Contest at New People Cinema on Sunday, November 1. Compared to last years’ contest, applications for both Middle and High School Student Division, and College Student and Adult Division, doubled with a total of 39 contestants participating in this year’s speech contest. Contestants spoke about topics such as their personal experiences learning Japanese, and the cultural differences between the United States and Japan.

First place winners for the Middle and High School Division speech contest received the complete set of popular manga series “Attack on Titans” from sponsor Kodansha Advanced Media. The first place winner for the College and Adult Division of this year’s contest received a round trip economy class ticket to Japan from our sponsor United Airlines.

The judges from both the morning and evening divisions encouraged participants to keep studying Japanese and to continue in learning more about Japanese culture. Joined by family members, friends, and teachers of contestants, this year’s speech contest ended in great success. The Consulate would like to extend our sincere congratulations to all the winners and commend all the contestants for their hard work.

Result: Middle School and High School Student Division

Winners among contestants who come from homes where Japanese is NOT spoken

1st:	Anthea Yuk Xiao, (Mission San Jose High School) “Memories”
2nd:	Jane Ahn, (Gunn High School) “Being a Female Mathlete”
3rd:	Derek Tse, (Amador Valley High School) “My Zero-Yen Japanese Studying”

 

Winners among contestants who come from homes where Japanese is spoken

1st:	Kana Igarashi Limpanukorn, (San Mateo Nippon Gakuyen) “The Power of Speech”
2nd:	Yuuki Hayashi, (Sakura Gakuen) “Station Lunch Box”
3rd:	Kenneth Roberts, (Little Angels Nihongo Class) “My Kendo”

 

College Student and Adult Division

1st:	Logan Sawade Spear, (Stanford) “A path to an open mind”
2nd:	Daniel Zachary Penner, (Stanford) “Treasure Diving in the Sea of Language”
3rd:	Jia Zhen Yap, (Berkeley) “War”

 

Participants for Middle School & High School Student Division

Contestants who come from homes where Japanese is NOT spoken

Hanna Faye Balancio Fontanos
Jessica Yeung
Rebecca Duong
Meghan Doan
Aditi Pandey
Marian Angela Joyce A. Arcibal
Ting Ting Huang
Laura Kelly Ozorio
Jason Takaki Fukuta
Amber Hu
Qingyue (Ben) Chen
Xuelei (Andy) Wong

Contestants who come from homes where Japanese is spoken

Nina Brady
Nicolas Yuhki Marin
Alisa Ota
Dahlia Yellin
Lily Gwendolyn Niels

Participants for College Students and Adults Contest

Russ Islam
Nancy Yee Rose
Philip Martin Halseth
Cecilia Jia-Shin Chu
Cynthia Mary-Jane-Toki Ashton
Sophia Seohyun Jung
Frances L. Wong
George Chiayu Chin
Fengyi Wu
Rebecca Anne Beardsley
Emily Margaret Franklin
Brandon Rutledge Oliva
Erina Niwa

Judges

For Middle School & High School Student Division

Ms. Mizuho Hayakawa, Consul, Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco
Mr. Kenji Dohi, Director of the Administration Division, New People, Inc.
Ms. Christy Bartlett, Director, Urasenke Foundation San Francisco Branch
Ms. Nobuko Takamatsu, President, Northern California Japanese Teachers Association
Ms. Misaki Kido, Marketing Director, Kodansha Advanced Media

For College Students and Adult Division

Mr. Nobuhiro Watanabe, Deputy Consul General, Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco
Mr. Ken-ichi Sato, President, Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Northern California
Mr. Satoshi Ito, General Manager, Kinokuniya Bookstores of America
Mr. David Makman, Chairman, Japan Society of Northern California