The 24th Annual Arizona Japanese Speech Contest was held on April 14th at Desert Ridge High School in Mesa, Arizona. It was organized by the Arizona Association of Teachers of Japanese and co-hosted by Desert Ridge High School and the Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles. A total of 47 contestants--from seven high schools and seven colleges in Arizona--competed in four categories based on their proficiency level and demonstrated their oral communication skills in Japanese. Nineteen prizes, including one grand prize, were given out to the chosen winners after a careful deliberation by eight judges.
During the breaks, students were encouraged to consider working or studying in Japan through the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program and the Monbukagaku-sho (MEXT) Scholarships through presentations by a JET alumnus and by a representative from the Consulate General, who also served as one the judges.
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