For the second year, INDET SAFETY SYSTEMS a.s. (ISS) supported the Nihongo Benron Taikai Japanese Speech Contest, which took place on April 16, 2016 in Prague, Czech Republic. This year marked the 40th anniversary of the contest and, as in the past, the main organizer was the Czech-Japanese Association in cooperation with other Japanese organizations operating in the Czech Republic. The event opened with a speech by the Japanese Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Mr. Tetsuo Yamakawa.
19 students of Japanese entered the competition. They were divided into three groups, i.e. beginner, intermediate and advanced. Many contestants had studied, or study Japanese at various institutions. Each year, however, one can find those who sign in as self-taught and whose skills and persistence never cease to amaze the jury and the audience alike.
In this year’s contest, participants prepared a speech on a predetermined theme. This time, it was “family” for the beginners and “Japanese and I” for the other groups. The judges evaluated the content of the speech, the overall performance and the ability of the contestants to answer question in Japanese. The winners left with many interesting prizes that had been purchased with numerous contributions from sponsors. ISS supported the event with a financial donation that was been used to purchase a return ticket to Japan for the winner of the intermediate group.
This year, the contest celebrated the 40th anniversary of its establishment and the program was enriched by interviews with contestants who had recited their speeches almost twenty years before. Many of them studied Japanese during the 70´s, during an era when learning such an exotic language was not at all easy and the contest offered a unique chance to use Japanese in the field. They shared their impressions and experiences with the audience and expressed delight in the fact that Japanese has been gaining on popularity in recent years.
Photo: organizers, sponsors and competitors. Attending from ISS were Mr. Shinya Moriyoshi (Manager of the Corporate Planning Department) and Miss Katarína Kissová (Corporate Planning Department Specialist).
(KK, CP Dept.)
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