You must meet the following criteria to compete in the contest: Be a high school student (grade 9 - 12) or a college/university student. Live in Washington State (Out-of-state students enrolled in online classes at a Washington state school can also compete). Be currently or previously enrolled in a Japanese language class.

No. If you are not currently enrolled in a Japanese class, but you have taken one (or more) in the past, you are still eligible to compete.

No. Unfortunately, native speakers of Japanese are not eligible to compete in the contest. However, heritage speakers ARE eligible to compete. Who is a Native Speaker? In the context of this contest, a "native speaker" is defined as someone who has obtained all or most of their K-12 (kindergarten through 12th grade) education in Japan. Who is a Heritage Speaker? In the context of this contest, a "heritage speaker" is defined as someone who has obtained all or most of their K-12 (kindergarten through 12th grade) education OUTSIDE of Japan. Heritage speakers may have a low, medium, or high/fluent level of proficiency in Japanese. ELIGIBILITY RULES FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS Speech Competition (High School Division): You are eligible to compete in the Heritage Level. Please see the High School Division Speech Competition Handbook for more information. Speech Competition (College Division): You may compete in whichever competition level best matches your current (or most recent) Japanese course. Please see the College Division Speech Competition Handbook for more information. Skit Contest: You may join any skit group, regardless of you and your groupmate’s proficiency level.

Yes! Running Start students have the choice to compete in either division (High School or College) of the Speech Competition or the Skit Contest. If you are currently enrolled in a college-level Japanese class but you want to compete in the High School Division, you should speak with a Japanese language instructor at your high school to help you determine the best competition level in which to compete. If there is no Japanese language instructor at your high school, please send us an email at sscontest@hyogobcc.org

You can only ask your Japanese teacher/professor to proofread your script for grammatical errors. Your teacher/professor may NOT help you write your speech or skit. Please refer to Section 3 in the contest handbooks for further information.

You can sign up to be paired with a Practice Buddy! Practice Buddies are volunteers who are fluent in Japanese, and they can help you with the following: Your pronunciation, intonation, and speaking speed in Japanese. Give you tips on how to deliver an engaging speech or skit. Practice Buddies will NOT help you with the following: Correct any vocabulary or grammar mistakes. Change the content of your speech or skit. All contestants are eligible to sign up for a Practice Buddy, and we strongly encourage you to pair up with one to maximize your speech or skit. To sign up, please complete this online form.

After you record your video, you will need to upload it to your Registration Form for submission.

A panel of judges selected by and consisting of members from the Japanese Speech & Skit Contest Committee will watch your videos for evaluation and scoring. All judges are fluent Japanese speakers and thoroughly follow our evaluation system to ensure that all contestants are fairly scored.

Date: March 2023 (Exact date to be announced) Location: This website Please visit this website and check your email regularly for updates and announcements.

Date: April 15 or 16, 2023 (Exact date and time to be announced) Location: Japanese Speech & Skit Contest Award Ceremony @ Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival (TBD) Winners will be invited to the in-person Award Ceremony to present their speech/skit and to receive their prize. If winners are unable to attend the award ceremony, they will receive their prizes by post mail following the award ceremony.

Contestants need to fill out and submit an online Registration Form. Before doing so, please refer to the “How to Register” page.

The deadline is February 17 (Friday), 2023.

No, late Registration Forms will not be accepted.

Immediately after submitting your online Registration Form, you’ll receive a message thanking you for your submission. You will also receive an official confirmation email after the registration deadline (February 17, 2023).

You will receive an official confirmation email after the registration deadline (February 17, 2023). Please wait patiently for further announcements.

Attendance is not mandatory, although we highly encourage you to attend if you have the time and means to do so. Winners will have a chance to perform their speech or skit in front of an audience and to receive their prize on stage, and will be recognized for their achievement.

If you live a great distance from the Award Ceremony venue, you may be eligible to receive a Travel Grant to help cover your travel expenses and lodging. The contest committee will be in contact with you regarding your eligibility to receive this grant.

If you cannot attend, we will give you recognition for your achievement and announce your name, school name, speech/skit title, and display your photo to the audience. We may also play your speech/skit video for the audience. Your prize will be sent to you by post mail in the days following the Award Ceremony.

Please send your questions to sscontest@hyogobcc.org In the subject section of your email, please include your name and school name. Also, please add you Japanese language instructor as CC (Carbon Copy). We will get back to you as soon as possible.