The theme of the 28th Japanese Public Speaking Contest, organized by the Embassy of Japan, was ‘What I like about Japan and don’t like so much about Japan’. Some twenty participants with or without a background in Japanese studies had 5 minutes to speak about Japanese cultural elements that they are attracted to and about aspects of Japan that they fancy less.
An expert panel headed by the Ambassador of Japan judged who presented the most original and well-structured speech in fluent Japanese. The winners received wonderful prizes handed to them by representatives of the sponsoring companies, including a trip to Japan with home-stay, digital cameras, dinner tickets, cultural goods, etc.
The speech contest was held on Saturday March 7th, 2015 at the Bel Air Hotel in The Hague. The event was open to the public. Over one hundred people enjoyed the speeches and the wonderful atmosphere.
