Social themes top Japanese speech contest

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Standing in front of dozens of people eager to hear her, Erni Suryadi, a contestant in the Japanese Language Speech Contest on Saturday, focused her mind on the 1,000 origami cranes she once made.

"I told the audience about the one thing I believe: I believe in hope. I believe that 1,000 origami cranes will answer your prayers," the student of Bina Nusantara University said after she delivered her speech.

The cranes must have helped. The jury panel, comprising four Japanese and one Indonesian, awarded Erni the first prize because she spoke eloquently about a Japanese theme that drew upon her own experience.

"Originality and confidence is highly appraised in delivering a speech," said one of the jurors before announcing the winners.

The 16 contestants of the annual event organized by the Japan Foundation raised various themes, from education issues to Jelangkung, a mystical game from Indonesia.

Contestant Vita Hadinata said that she had chosen to speak about the Japanese tea ceremony because she wanted to elaborate on the religious element of the ceremony.

"The ceremony is a part of Zen Buddhism rituals," the Santa Ursula high school student said.

The Japan Foundation director Kazuo Ando said that this year's contestants were more creative in choosing a theme.

"Compared to last year, which mostly discussed computers and technology, this year's themes were richer because it also covered social issues. That is a good improvement," said Ando.

However, one of the audience members, Dewi Yudhasari, demanded that participants choose topics that focused on Indonesia rather than elaborating on Japanese culture.

"Most of the participants tend to talk about how great Japan and its people are. That's not wrong. But considering that they will go to Japan if they win the contest, they should talk more about Indonesia so they could also be our 'cultural ambassadors'," said Dewi, who is head of the Japanese language department at the LIA foundation.

Erni, along with the first and second runner-ups, Mutiawanthi and Arius Ferdian Samuel -- both students of the Japan Foundation's Japanese Language Course -- will go to the national round in July 2 for a chance to win a trip to Japan.

This was the 34th speech competition held by the Japan Foundation, and it is aimed at improving Indonesians' understanding of Japanese language and culture. (006)