The Nihongo Speech Contest, organized annually by The Japan Foundation, Manila, remains a premier platform for Japanese language learners in the Philippines to express themselves in Nihongo while deepening cross-cultural understanding.
This year’s contest brought together presenters from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, highlighting original speeches filled with personal stories, creativity, and passion. Seven speakers were recognized as outstanding through a careful selection process and were invited to participate. The process included a first-round screening based on speech videos, followed by a second-round screening consisting of an online live presentation and a Q&A session. All seven speakers are recipients of the Excellence Award.
The judges for the Speech Contest were:
- Suzuki “Ben” Tsutomu, Director, The Japan Foundation, Manila
- Shigehiro Matsuda, Director & First Secretary, Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC), Embassy of Japan in the Philippines
- Harutaka Ishikawa, President, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, Inc. (JCCIPI)
- Sawa Toda, Chairperson, Association for Japanese-Language Teaching (AJALT)
- Junko Atagi, Japanese Language Education Adviser, The Japan Foundation, Manila
The contest evaluated speakers based on Content, Delivery, and Language, and each presenter delivered a five-minute speech followed by a two-minute Q&A session conducted in English.
The seven presenters and their speech titles were:
- Toshea Lei Balunto (Davao) – 「私の中の子供」 “The Child in Me”
- Erica Cristie Chan (Manila) – 「文化を繋ぐ魔法のテーブル」 “The Magical Table that Connects Cultures”
- Anton Luis Galang (Taguig) – 「笑われる勇気」 “The Courage to Be Laughed At”
- Glen Paul Monteposo (Makati) – 「友達との絆を守るために」 “So that the Friendship We Built Would Last”
- Rafael Olasiman (Cebu) – 「場違いを、共に歩く力へ」 “From Feeling Out of Place to the Strength of Walking Together”
- Juliana Rose Pagador (Iloilo) – 「物語の種」 “Seeds of Stories”
- Anna Fe Palmera (Valenzuela) – 「私の恋人」 “My Lover”
Each speech reflects the theme “Sama-zama Tayo”, showing how diverse personal experiences and backgrounds can create meaningful shared understanding.
Awardees
This year’s awardees were:
Study Tour Awardee: Ms. Juliana Rose Pagador
Special Jury Awardee: Ms. Toshea Lei Balunto and Mr. Glen Paul Monteposo
The Study Tour Award is hosted by the Japan Overseas Enterprises Association (Nichigaikyo), giving the recipient the opportunity to travel to Japan for a study tour and participate in an international speech contest. The airfare of the Philippine representative is generously sponsored by the Japanese Association Manila, Inc. and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, Inc.
