The 43rd Annual Japanese Speech Contest

On Sunday, October 23, 2016, the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, Japanese American Association of Northern California (Hokka Nichibeikai), and Northern California Japanese Teachers’ Association held the 43rd Annual Japanese Speech Contest at New People Cinema. A total of 25 contestants competed in the Middle and High School Division, and College Student and Adult Division. This year contestants’ spoke about various topics such as their experiences which they had through learning Japanese language and different culture and histories, what they are feeling in their daily life and various social issues.

First place winners from each category of the Middle and High School Division speech contest received a “Street Fighter” arcade game stick from sponsor CAPCOM USA, Inc. 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 sponsor United Airlines.

Judges were impressed with the caliber of this year’s speeches and encouraged participants to continue their studies in the Japanese language and culture. 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 & High School Student Division
Winners among contestants who came from homes where Japanese is NOT spoken
1st:	Ting Ting Huang (Monterey Trail High School) “Bonds”
2nd:	Sabrina Elizabeth Stone (Monta Vista High School) “Beautiful Japanese”
3rd:	Kelly Wang (Henry Gunn High School) “Asia and America”
Winners amongst contestants who came from homes where Japanese is spoken
1st:	Owen Kawano Spargo (Sakura Gakuen) “I have a concern”
2nd:	Daigo Frank (San Mateo Nippon Gakuyen) “Mindfulness”
3rd:	Allen Luo (Henry Gunn High School) “My Grandfather’s Wallet”
College Student and Adult Division
1st:	Sophia Seohyun Jung (Stanford) “Exploring ‘Wa’ and ‘Magokoro’”
2nd:	Rojie J. Calabiao (Sacramento) “Fear is not a bad thing”
3rd:	Eiden Anwei Yu (Davis) “The Never-Ending Flow of Time”
Participants
Participants for Middle School & High School Student Division
Contestants who come from homes where Japanese is NOT spoken
Ananya Donapati Amy Pan Claire Elizabeth Garlington Opshory Choudhury Benjamin Walsh Jackson Matley
Contestants who come from homes where Japanese is spoken
Maki Cindy Miyauchi Yuuki Hayashi Hannah Cho
Participants for College Student and Adult Division
Michael Constantinou Jacky Chuk Juliette Chantelle Green Jia Zhen Yap Margaret Grace Freiwald Katy Bridges Tsz Fung Tang