AUT staff members at a gathering at the Consul General’s residence to express appreciation to Air NZ

 Air NZ, has generously given a return ticket to Japan as first prize for the JSANZ speech competition. JSANZ would like thank Mr Duncan Small, Air NZ Head of Govt and Industry Affairs, Cath O’Brien, Regulatory Affairs Manager, and Anna Burton Garcia, International Affairs Manager for this wonderfully generous gesture and for their ongoing and warm support of our students efforts to learn Japanese and to become true global citizens. JSANZ would also like to acknowledge Mr Yokoyama, the Consulate General of Japan, Auckland, and his staff , for their excellent networking on our behalf.

JSANZ has now been officially accepted as a member of the Japanese Language Education Global Network (GN). 

GN is an alliance that enables the exchange of information about Japanese language education around the world, with the aim of promoting international cooperation, practical activities for learning and teaching Japanese and international development of academic research. Currently, 10 countries and regions (US, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, Korea, Taiwan, China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Europe) are affiliated with this Japanese language education alliance. This is a significant step for JSANZ.

The second National NZ Schools Japanese Trivia Championships was held on Friday 17 June.

The Auckland Regional winner and winner of the National Championships was Northcote College Team 1.

We are delighted to announce the winners of the 2015 JSANZ Tertiary Japanese Language Speech Contest.

First place:                Brennan Galpin                   (University of Canterbury)

Second place:            Simon Hsieh                         (University of Auckland)

Third place:              Jay Tweddle                         (Victoria University of Wellington)

We would like to congratulate all of the participants and in particular, Brennan Galpin, Simon Hsieh and Jay Tweddle.  Brennan will receive a return air ticket to Japan, and Simon and Jay will receive Prezzy cards ($100 and $50 respectively), sponsored by the Sasakawa Fellowship Fund for Japanese Language Education and the Japan Foundation.

We hope the participants continue their Japanese learning journey with renewed motivation and enthusiasm, and wish them all the best for the future.

Comments from the Chief Judge

The contest has attracted more participants than the previous year and the overall quality of the speeches was very high. The contestants made commendable speeches with passion and enthusiasm, and we enjoyed the opportunity to judge speeches on interesting themes with originality and strong messages.

Speeches have a power to move and inspire the audience when they are based on what speakers have gained and learnt through own experiences, and when ideas, arguments and messages are elaborated in their own words with concrete examples.  These were exactly the elements of the winning speeches in this contest.

The majority of contestants successfully demonstrated Japanese language command with correct grammar, a variety of vocabulary and expressions.  Some speakers, however, talked a little too fast, which made it difficult for the audience to comprehend.  Some speakers can improve their speeches by paying more attention to the understanding of the audience.  There were some participants whose speech missed marks due to a rather monotonous tone, although they gained high marks for its content, development and expressions.  There is room for some contestants to improve speech delivery and to develop presentation skills.

We wish the contestants all the best for their Japanese studies.  Also, we would like to thank all the teachers and the members of the JSANZ Speech Contest Committee who have been involved in organizing the event. 

2015 JSANZ Tertiary Japanese Language Speech Contest

Name & Institution	Speech Title
Robyn Hwang  Massey University	The Benefits of Learning a Second Language
Nada El Hosseny  Massey University	My Favourite Japanese Crafts
Jordan Tuinman  University of Otago	The Misunderstandings of Wasei-eigo
Aidan Watkin  University of Otago	The Future of Humanity
Toby Birkbeck-Jones  University of Canterbury	A Takumi Story
Brennan Galpin  University of Canterbury	My Life and Karate
Simon Hsieh  University of Auckland	My Wabi-Sabi
Roxanne Yu  University of Auckland	My Secret Gadget “Kaiwagomu”
Yeyoung You  Auckland University of Technology	Cyber Bullying
Wai Chi  Ng  Auckland University of Technology	Same Sex Marriage in Japan
Hao Ming Lee  CPIT	Don’t Bully!
Jolene Skeen  University of Waikato	Expression of Masculinity and Femininity through Langauge
Jazmen Apiti  University of Waikato	The Similarities between Japanese and Maori
Jay Tweddle  Victoria University of Wellington	Fujimura Shinichi and the Relaltionship between Archaeological Fraud and Science Fiction
Calvina Deng  Victoria University of Wellington	3 Reasons Why You Should Travel

A special prize-giving to congratulate the first prize winner of the 2015 JSANZ Japanese Language Speech Contest was held at the University of Canterbury on 10th of Sept.  

Dr Penny Shino, President of JSANZ presented Brennan Galpin (University of Canterbury) with the JSANZ trophy.  Brennan also received a return air ticket to Japan as his prize. 

It was an extremely competitive nationwide contest, with 15 finalists rigorously selected from each of New Zealand’s tertiary institutions. We hope that this triumph will encourage Brennan to continue his Japanese studies with renewed motivation and enthusiasm.

We would like to thank Professor Jonathan Le Cocq (Pro-Vice-Chancellor, College of Arts) and Dr Rachel Payne (Co-Head of the Department of Global, Cultural and Language Studies) at the University of Canterbury for hosting this special ceremony.

The 42nd Japan New Zealand Business Council Conference was held in Tomakomai, Japan this year. Tomakomai is a city and port in Iburi Subprefecture in Hokkaido, Japan. It is the largest city in the Iburi Subprefecture and the fifth largest city in Hokkaido.

Dallas Nesbitt was able to attend the conference while she was in Japan. She took the opportunity to thank, in person, our generous sponsors, and to meet and talk with key people from both Japan and New Zealand.

We encourage JSANZ members to submit a chapter proposal for our first edited book.   

Working title of the edited volume:

New Synergies for the Post-Methods Era: Approaches of Tertiary Japanese Programmes in New Zealand

Abstract Submission: the deadline for proposals is 31 March 2015.

Undergraduate Scholarships

The Fund offers five scholarships a year to students who are enrolling full-time in a first undergraduate degree in Japanese language. The purpose of this scholarship is to encourage top students to continue with their Japanese study at tertiary level. Preference will be given to those studying a conjoint degree or a double major, but not at the exclusion of those who are studying a Japanese specific degree. The closing date for applications is the 1 April 2015.

• View the application form
• Click here for the Undergraduate Scholarship Referees Forms

Dr Penny Shino, President of JSANZ, attended the Japan New Zealand Business Council’s Annual Joint Meeting in Christchurch on November 24-26. The meeting took conference format with a series of presentation panels delivered by Japanese and NZ delegates spanning areas of business, industry, tourism, primary industry, creative enterprise and education.

The event was also attended by the Ambassador of Japan, Mr Yasuaki Nogawa, the NZ ambassador to Tokyo Mr Mark Sinclair, the former ambassador Mr Ian Kennedy and other diplomats. Outstandingly apparent throughout the meeting was the extent of Japanese investment in NZ and the huge contribution Japanese businesses make to the NZ economy.

And in the same way the courage and tenacity of New Zealanders seeking to trade with Japan, and the rich opportunities which remain were impressive. One challenge emerging from the event was for Oji Group (who produce Nepia – Napier – tissues) to re-brand their product with another Hawkes Bay name: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapiki- maungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu. Anything seemed possible.