What is this activity?
Foreign residents living, studying, or working in Nishitokyo City give speeches in Japanese about their feelings and thoughts about living in Japan, their thoughts about their home country, and their connection with Nishitokyo City. This is not a contest to evaluate proficiency in Japanese or the content of the speech.
Citizen judges also participate to judge the speeches. After the contest, there is a party for the presenters, judges, audience, and staff.
Past events
The first Japanese speech contest took place in 2011 as part of the city’s tenth anniversary celebrations. Steered by an executive committee from the following year, it has been held annually ever since.
The Japanese speech contest held in 2024, the thirteenth, featured 10 presenters, 3 elementary and junior high school students from the Japanese Language Class for Kids, and 6 citizen judges. The event, which was organized by nearly 40 members of the executive committee and related persons, attracted an audience of more than 130 people. The social gathering after the contest was attended by more than 100 people and, like the contest itself, was a huge success.
Record of Japanese Speech Contests
- 2024 contest (PDF, PPT page-turner version)
- 2023 contest (PDF)
- 2022 contest (PDF)
- 2021 contest (PDF）
＜Important! ＞
In accordance with the Copyright Act and the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, unauthorized copying, modification, or transfer of these records is strictly prohibited.
How to participate in the contest
The contest is held on the first Sunday of October each year.
Presenters and citizen judges are recruited in early July.
The contest is advertised in the Nishitokyo City newsletter, NIMIC Tsushin, and NIMIC website and in flyers distributed at Japanese language classes and public facilities in the city.
How to volunteer
Volunteers to participate in the planning of the event are recruited through the NIMIC Tsushin in early April.
Volunteers for the day of the contest are recruited through the NIMIC Tsushin in early September.
In addition to the planning and operation of the speech contest itself, there are also other tasks that can be done at home, such as designing flyers, creating slides to be projected on the day, and creating a web-based record of the contest after the event.