On Saturday 4^th March 2023, the annual Japanese Speech Contest for University Students was held in-person for the first time since 2020! We were honoured to welcome twenty-five students from twelve universities across the United Kingdom to the prestigious Great Hall of King’s College London, to give speeches and presentations in three categories – all entirely in Japanese! It was fantastic to reunite with old friends and welcome new friends to this exciting event, now in its eighteenth year.

If you missed out on attending Finals Day, or if you did attend and want to re-watch the fantastic speeches and presentations, you can view every single speech and presentation on our YouTube Channel by clicking the link below:

The 18^th Japanese Speech Contest for University Students – Finals Day Videos

The day began when opening remarks were given by Mr OKAZAKI Yasuyuki, Minister for Public Diplomacy and Media, Embassy of Japan in the UK, Dr Ana Maria Sousa Aguiar de Medeiros from King’s College London, and Mr TAKAHASHI Kazuya, Deputy Director of The Japan Foundation, London.

As always, the five finalists in the Individual Presentation Category (post-beginner category) were the first to ascend the stage. In this category, students use PowerPoint slides to speak about cultural topics from around the world.

The first prize winner in this category was Patricia Szeto, a 1^st year student at the University of Cambridge, who gave a presentation on “Fengshui Belief in Hong Kong”. Sebastian Serrao Skomial, a 1^st year student at the University of Manchester, won the second prize for his presentation about “Europe’s Languages on the Verge of Extinction”.

The three brilliant runners-up were: Ee Jean Poh (University of Warwick, “Malaysia’s Mamaks”), Evangeline Sarah Dupret (University of Sheffield, “L’Escalade - Fête de l’Escalade Geneva/Escalade festival), and Thomas Merryfield (University of Edinburgh, “Culture VS Cruelty – The Controversy of Bullfighting”).

After a short interval where spectators were able to look at booths, samples and leaflets from some of our sponsors, the Speech Category began. This category is for students studying Japanese as either a degree or non-degree course, and finalists do not use visual aids or PowerPoints.  The students in this category are free to choose their own topics. Following their speeches, they took part in a question-and-answer session with an interlocutor. Krishna Choudhury, a 5^th year student at the University of Leeds, won first prize for his presentation entitled “The condition of migrant workers in Japan”. Second prize went to 4^th year student at the University of Edinburgh, Hannah McCormick, for her presentation “Japan and Autism – how can we make a good environment?”.

There were three fantastic runners-up in this category: Ramona Alexandra Antonescu (University of Leeds, “The glorification of Serial Killers”), Xiaoyu Zhang (SOAS University of London, “The Japanese Sense of Nature as Contributing to Sustainable Development”), and Emily Horst (Newcastle University, “Considering the co-existence of individualism and collectivism in Japanese society through hobbies).

The final students to speak were the Group Presentation Category finalists, who took the stage while the judges left to deliberate on the Individual Presentation and Speech Categories. Group Presentation Category finalists are studying Japanese at a beginner level, and all received participation prizes rather than being placed individually.

The presentations this year were: “Our favourite British desserts” (Team Piece of Cake, University of Cambridge), “Burke & Hare” (Team The Edinburgers, University of Edinburgh), “Wedding” (Team Bridesmaid, King’s College London), “Spa Towns” (Team Hot Spring Egg, University of Warwick), and “Keele’s Cherry Blossoms” (Team Keele University’s Cherry Blossom Class, Keele University).

After the speeches and presentations concluded, there was a Japanese sing-along conducted by volunteers from King’s College London, there was a short speech from Mr TANAKA Shin-ichi, Director of Japan Foundation, London and the judges’ remarks, conveyed by Ms NARUMI-MUNRO Fumiko, Chair of the British Association for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language.

Next was the awards ceremony. The students received their prizes and the winners in each category were asked to say a few words. The applause was thunderous as all the friends, family, teachers and supporters of the finalists rewarded them for their hard work.  Every single finalist in every category received prizes kindly provided by our generous sponsors.

The day finally drew to a close with a lively drinks reception – opened with a toast from Ms Jenny White, Chief Executive of the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation (one of the Speech Contest’s generous sponsors).

We were so pleased to be able to hold the contest in-person again and to provide finalists and spectators with a friendly, exciting atmosphere. It is a great source of pride to us that this event continues from year to year, connecting students across the United Kingdom through their Japanese language studies.

If reading all about this event makes you sad that you missed out, don't fear! Please browse the links below to see the programme, watch videos, look at photos, and read abstracts/summaries of all the speeches and presentations from Finals Day:

• Download the event programme


• View videos of all the speeches and presentations


• Download Speech Category summaries


• Download Individual and Group Presentation Category abstracts


• View photos from Finals Day


• Information on the BATJ website

We would like to thank all participants, their teachers and supporters, the judges, audience members and BATJ for making the contest such a success. In addition, special thanks must go to the generous sponsors who supported this event:

The Eighteenth Japanese Speech Contest for University Students was organised by the British Association for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language (BATJ) and the Japan Foundation, London in joint partnership. We are grateful to all the members of staff who devoted their time and energy towards making this event a success.

We would also like to express our gratitude to King’s College London, for letting us use their Great Hall as a venue.