The final round of the 17th China National Japanese Speech Contest took place on March 12 in Tokyo, Japan. Wang Haonan, a student from the School of Japanese and International Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), Class of 2022, clinched second place with an exceptional performance, also earning the "Special Award for Best Impromptu Speech."

Wang Haonan (center), a student from the School of Japanese and International Studies at BFSU, Class of 2022, secures second place and receives the "Special Award for Best Impromptu Speech" at the final round of the 17th China National Japanese Speech Contest held on March 12 in Tokyo, Japan. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

The contest was jointly organized by the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), Nikkei Inc. and the China-Japan Academic Exchange Center (the Society of Chinese Professors in Japan).

Preliminary rounds were conducted in eight regions across China, with over 30,000 participants from 232 domestic universities taking part. Following intense competition, 16 contestants qualified for the final round in Japan. Of those, Wang from BFSU advanced as the winner of the special prize in the Beijing regional competition.

The final round comprised prepared speeches and impromptu speeches, where students majoring in Japanese language from sophomore to senior years competed on the same stage. In the impromptu speech segment, participants had to begin their 2-minute speech within 10 seconds of receiving the topic. This segment evaluated their logical reasoning, knowledge reserve, language proficiency and public speaking skills. Wang garnered the highest votes from the audience, showcasing his solid Japanese language foundation and rich knowledge reserve.

The China National Japanese Speech Contest stands as the highest-level, largest-scale, and most influential Japanese speech competition in China. The outstanding performance of students from the School of Japanese and International Studies reflects BFSU's commitment to high-quality talent cultivation and education. The school will persist in strengthening the cultivation of outstanding innovative talents, actively promoting talent cultivation reforms, and utilizing competitions to enhance teaching and learning, with the goal of nurturing more high-quality top-notch Japanese language talents with patriotism, a global vision, and professional skills.