38th Japanese Language Speech Contest

26 Contestants Speak about Their Experiences Stepping Forward

26 contestants pose for a photo after the Japanese Language Speech Contest on March 23, 2024

   The 38th Annual Japanese Language Speech Contest was held at the Japan Information Center, the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago, and 26 contestants from three states, Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota, competed to show their Japanese language skills.

   The speeches were interesting, as the young people expressed their own discoveries through their experiences, their awareness of the environment and urban development, their views on life, and other perspectives and thoughts in their speeches.

     The annual contest invites students of elementary school through college in the Midwestern states. It is co-organized by the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago, Japan America Society of Chicago, and Osaka Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International with support from many other organizations and corporations.

     The contestants compete in three categories: 1st is for elementary and junior high school students; 2nd for high school students; and 3rd for college students. Following the speech, judges question each contestant in Japanese to test their understanding of the content. The contestants are evaluated for the quality of their speech as well as deliberation.

Consul General
Jun Yanagi

 　In his opening remarks, Consul General Jun Yanagi welcomed the 26 contestants, saying, “I am pleased to see contestants who foster your interest and enthusiasm in learning Japanese and worked hard to join the contest today.”

   Consul General Yanagi praised the teachers and parents for their tireless efforts to support the contestants while acknowledging the sponsors, co-organizers, and judges for their assistance.

   He also thanked Jake Wiens, Kendama Professional from the Sweets Kendamas Foundation, for his attendance to the Contest to introduce the kendama spirit and joy of playing.

   CG Yanagi told the contestants that they represented the hope for the future of Japan-U.S. friendship and hoped that they would become a bridge between Japan and the Midwest in the future, regardless of the outcome of the speech contest.

   He also said that 2024 was designated as the first Japan-U.S. Tourism Exchange Year, and continued, “Today's Grand Prize and Sister City Osaka Award winners are going to enjoy their opportunity to visit Japan, but in this important moment and with the Osaka-Kansai Expo 2025 ahead, I encourage all of you to visit Japan and apply your knowledge during your travels.”

   To encourage the contestants for their continuous Japanese study, CG Yanagi introduced them to future opportunities such as scholarships, the JET Program, and the thriving Japanese business community. He concluded his greetings, saying, “I hope you will become bridges between Japan and the U.S., contributing to the strong ties between our nations.” 

   Each contestant seemed to be nervous at the podium but made a good speech while they were watching the eyes of the audience. After the speech, they answered questions from the head judge Fukumi Matsubara in Japanese.

Kendama Professional Jake Wiens (L) and a contestant who challenges kendama.

   After the speech contest, Jake Wiens gave a kendama class, where the contestants, inspired by his skills, went up on stage to try their hand at kendama.

　Afterward, refreshments were served, and the contestants were able to relax while chatting with family and friends.

　In the meantime, the judges decided on the winners. The award winners were announced by Consul Tsutomu Shibata, Director of the Japan Information Center.

Prize-winning Speeches

 Grand Prize

Grand Prize winner William Yang (C), Consul General Jun Yanagi (L), and Koichiro Fujishima, Vice President and Regional Manager of Japan Airlines

   William Yang from Purdue University won the Grand Prize with his speech titled “Here. I lived.”

    Two years ago, Yang visited the graves of his ancestors with her grandmother and family. However, the slope up to the cemetery was blocked by overgrown weeds and thorns, and they could not get close to the graves. Looking at the ten graves from a distance, no one knew who was buried there or whether they were all family graves.

 　The scene reminded him of those who worked until they were ravaged and then were forgotten after death. It made Yang wonder what they lived for and what they died for, whether their fruitless lives were foolish, and whether it was he who was foolish for thinking so. It also made him wonder what he, who had not yet known hardship, could do for them.

 　Yang said, “ ’Is there even any point to learning this if I’m never going to remember it?’ is something anyone has thought of at least once." Then he questioned, "If you see no value in the knowledge you forget, can you see value in the lives you forget?"

According to Yang, there were not only one or two students who had forgotten all the Japanese they had learned in school within a few years. But the effort to learn built human connections and experiences. The effort was not measured by what it produced, but by its own value which led you to stand proud. The past might fade into the future, but it never became meaningless. “It is why ‘now’ can exist. It is by standing here and experiencing the present that will serve as proof that you lived,” said Yang.

    Yang continued that when people died, their bodies perished, and although those dead were remembered by their friends, they too would eventually die. Some might live on through the stories and writings they had left behind, but no matter how influential they used to be, their living proofs would fade away, one by one, and be forgotten.

    Yang said, "So when is ‘true death?’ I believe it to be when a person has been forgotten. That is why we have a duty to remember those dear to us. That is the role entrusted to us as the next generations. That is why I am here. That is why I will remember.”

    Yang's grandmother never forgot Yang's childhood joy of harvesting chili peppers, and she planted chili peppers and waited for Yang to return home.

   Now his grandmother, with her bent back, could no longer farm. It was unbearable for Yang to see her grandmother's figure in contrast to the young plants growing straight.

    Forty years from now, Yang may be the only one who remembers this grandmother's story. The next generation will not even know his grandmother's face. Yang said, “The graveyard swallowed by nature will one day be forgotten. My existence, which bore witness to that scenery, will one day be forgotten. But unmistakably at that moment, I was there.”

    Yang received 50,000 miles of JAL mileage donated by Japan Airlines.

Sister City Award

Sister City Osaka Award winner Clive Benedict Mendoza (L) and Hiromi Fukasawa, from Osaka Committee, Chicago Sister Cities International

    Clive Benedict Mendoza from Northside College Prep won the Sister City Osaka Award with her speech titled “How to Improve Chicago’s Urban Planning That Embraces Humanity.”

   Mendoza, who grew up in the Albany Park neighborhood on Chicago's North Side, described a peaceful residential neighborhood but also spoke about the bustling commercial area along Lawrence Avenue, where diverse cultures intermingle. She said, "I think it could benefit from more economic revitalization. Good urban planning will help improve Albany Park and Chicago as a whole.”

    Mendoza explained, "In various parts of the United States, progress in urban planning has led to environmentalism relating to public transportation and housing," citing several examples, such as the expansion of the rail system in Los Angeles, which has connected residential neighborhoods and reduced traffic congestion. She went on to say, "I believe that incorporating initiatives like this in Chicago will bring about positive change.”

   How can this be done in Chicago's urban planning? Mendoza says that both physical and social aspects need to enter the planning, especially, in neighborhoods like Albany Park.

   Mendoza’s major proposals include extending the Brown Line to O'Hare Airport and some others, but one plan in particular that Mendoza would like to incorporate is the layout of Lawrence Ave. The parking lane would be converted to a sidewalk, trees would be planted to provide shade, and a barricaded bike lane would be installed to ensure safety. If such urban planning is applied, Chicago's residential areas, including Albany, can achieve positive changes.

   Mendoza said that in addition to improving urban development, urban planning has an aspect of bringing people together. She found that her new friends were deeply interested in the field of urban planning, and they shared each other's visions and became best friends for the first time. Through this experience, Mendoza said she has found a ray of hope and a reason to live.

   Mendoza said of her near-future dreams, "I want to work in urban planning and thorough urban planning, hoping to create new human connections.”

   Mendoza received a round-trip ticket to Osaka with a two-week homestay donated by the Osaka Committee.

First Prize winners: from Left, William Gronewald, Eleni Kafantaris, Jaanvi Solanki, and Koo Okuda, Vice-Chair of PR Committee, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago

First Prize

     William Gronewald from University of Minnesota was the winner of the First Prize in the third category. His speech was titled “Nursing Assistant Experience.”

    Gronewald wanted to work in health care and become a doctor. To that end, he spent his summers working as a nursing assistant in various nursing homes. His job was to help the elderly with daily activities such as toileting, eating, and getting ready for bed, which he liked and thought was important work. Working with the nurses and other assistants in the home was interesting and he learned a lot from them.

   Over time, Gronewald wanted to know people better, so he narrowed down the number of nursing homes. When he went to fewer nursing homes, his job could have more impact.

   One day, a COVID-19 outbreak suddenly began at a nursing home he went to often. The residents of the home stayed in their rooms to avoid contact with other people and rarely spoke with others.    Gronewald became busy with corona testing, wearing protective gowns, and taking care of the residents in their private rooms.

    One of the people he cared for had a worsening of symptoms caused by COVID-19 and died just four days after the onset of the disease. It was a shock to him because the elderly died while he was working in the home.

   Within a week and a half, the outbreak ended and life began to be normal again. “This memory of experiencing ordinary days, then unordinary days, then ordinary days again, I still remember well now,” Gronewald said.

    Through his work as a nursing assistant, Gronewald learned a lot about the severity of the coronavirus, the importance of health, the importance of working for seriously ill people and their families, and the importance and difficulties of being involved in health care. He said, "I think that working as a nursing assistant and being involved with health care is hard, but I like it and plan to continue in the future.”

    Gronewald received a $100 gift card donated by Sumitomo Corporation of Americas and Technics Wireless Earbuds donated by Panasonic Connect North America.

Twenty-six contestants, judges, and Consul General Yanagi pose for a commemorative photo

Award winners

 Grand Prize:

    William Yang

Sister City Osaka Award:

    Clive Benedict Mendoza

 1st Prize:

    First Category, Jaanvi Solanki

    Second Category, Eleni Kafantaris

    Third Category, William Gronewald

2nd Prize:

    First Category, Ivy Garland

    Second Category, Dhruv Kapadia

    Third Category, Jenny Luu

3rd Prize:

    First Category, Lila Dondzik

    Second Category, Mike Schwab

    Third Category, Rui Fan

4th Prize:

    First Category, Adriana Atanasova

    Second Category, Hailley Jalovecky

    Third Category, Dawon Chung

 JASC Award:

    First Category, Emma BasaNemec

    Second Category, Nicole Shinkle

    Third Category, Junrong Qian

 IATJ Award:

    First Category, Danzan Dashdemberel

    Second Category, Summer Machnik

JIC Award:

    First Category, Naleyah Long-Smith, Ryu Velazquez

    Second Category, Joseph Redmond, Noah Smith, Nate Becker

    Third Category, Damon Triplett, Charlize Pedregosa