Chosen from among 100 applicants from 29 countries, 12 finalists will compete for the top prize in an annual Japanese speech contest for foreigners in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, on June 14.
Selections were based on tape-recorded speeches in Japanese and submitted manuscripts. The contest will start at 1 p.m. at Kawagoe Municipal Public Hall in Kawagoe City.
Among the finalists are students at Japanese universities: Kim Jae Hyun of South Korea, Lim Zhu Xiang Sandy of Singapore, Li Jun of China, Md. Mubinul Hoque of Bangladesh, Mihaela Butnariu of Romania, Le Trung Dung of Vietnam, Chiang Hui-chih of Taiwan and Freshte Najimi of Iran. They will be joined by American Jonathan Michaels, an exchange worker for a local government, Munkhjargal Dashdor of Mongolia, a part-time worker, Sameera Gunawardena of Sri Lanka, a trainee at a town office, and Salil Vaidya of India, a translator.
The contest is organized by the nonprofit International Education Center with The Japan Times as a cosponsor.
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