Winning speeches of the 39th Chinese Speech Contest of All Japan

Urara Asao Yuka Matsuki Miyu Minegishi

O n Jan 9， 2022， the 39th Chinese Speech Contest of All Japan， hosted by the Japan-China Friendship Association， was successfully concluded. After intense competition in the preliminaries and finals， 19 candidates won prizes in the high school， social and college groups. Urara Asao （college group）， Yuka Matsuki （social group） and Miyu Minegishi （high school group） won top prizes and were awarded the ChinaJapan Friendship Association Medals.

Communication paves way to friendship

Urara Asao

First of all， I want to say that I love China and Chinese people very much. But to be honest， I didn’t have a good impression of China before， and even had some prejudice against it. Of course， my prejudice did not come from my own experience since I had no real contact with China or Chinese culture at that time； it came from those one-sided media reports. My good opinion of China is based on my own experience. It was a trip that removed my prejudice against China and made me truly feel the kindness and warmth of the Chinese people.

In my sophomore year， I traveled to China for the first time. During the trip， I encountered many difficulties because of my poor Chinese. For example， once I took the wrong bus and my mind went blank at discovery of the mistake. Another time， after I dined at a restaurant， I realized I had forgotten my wallet. The list of such things goes on.

However， that trip left me a very good impression. Because every time I had a problem， there were always Chinese people kindly helping me out. I remember that once I got lost. While I was anxiously looking left and right， an old lady came to me. She asked about the situation and took me all the way to my destination. On the way， I told her I was Japanese. She told me about her trip to Japan to let me relax.

There was another thing that impressed me more. It made me realize the importance of understanding and communication. In 2019， I invited a Chinese friend to spend New Year with my family. When old folks of my family heard that a Chinese friend was visiting， their eyes filled with surprise and anxiety. They were just like the old me. They had never been to China， did not understand Chinese culture， but had prejudice against the country.However， after spending the New Year holiday with my Chinese friend， my grandma said to me excitedly， “In my 70 years of life， there have always been some misconceptions about the Chinese people. After real contact and communication， I find that your Chinese friend is polite and gentle to everyone！ I grow to like the Chinese people！” Hearing grandma’s words， I was moved to tears. At this moment， I deeply understand the importance of sincere communication between people and feel the power of communication.

Both China and Japan have a saying， “Seeing is believing.” As long as people take off the colored glasses and communicate with each other heart to heart， prejudice can easily go away.

The year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations. It is also a vital and opportune time to promote China-Japan friendship. No matter how society develops in the future， it is the aspiration of both Chinese and Japanese people to maintain friendship from generation to generation. It is also my heartfelt wish. To make the wish come true， I will take an active part in people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan and contribute to bilateral friendship. Let us join hands to create a better future for our two countries！

A thousand-mile journey begins with the first step

Yuka Matsuki

My name is Yuka Matsuki. I come from Yamagata， Yamagata Prefecture， Japan.

I began to learn Chinese when I was in college. It has been nearly 10 years now. In daily life， whenever I tell people around me that I learn Chinese and have been to China， they are very surprised and often say， “Why are you interested in China？” “You’ve been to China. How brave you are！ That’s really something！” Their words leave me with the impression that they have no interest in China at all. Whenever this happens， I feel very uncomfortable. However， thinking that I am just an ordinary person and not an expert in promoting international communication， I always felt powerless and had to end the talk.

Through learning Chinese， I felt the charm of China and the warmth and kindness of the Chinese people. For example， when studying in China， I saw the Forbidden City， Mogao Grottoes， Jiuzhaigou Valley and other magnificent landscapes that I could not see in Japan. When I encountered difficulties， the local people were very patient to help me and encouraged me without expecting anything in return. They would say that they are happy to help！ If the people around me back here had an opportunity to know China， they would love China as much as I do.

After graduating from college， I continued learning Chinese in a class organized by the Japan-China Friendship Association in Yamagata. There were 17 men， women and children in the class， ranging from 28 to 75 years old. Every student had a special reason for learning Chinese. Some had Chinese friends， some had taught Japanese in China， some others liked Chinese actors and TV dramas and still others had Chinese pen friends.

Only in the Yamagata school did I know that so many ordinary people are communicating with China.The learning atmosphere here was very relaxed and pleasant. We often discussed hot topics together， especially about China. Through the discussion， we developed a deeper understanding of China. Seeing them， I thought that it would be great if more people become interested in China. Maybe the people around me just need a small opportunity to take their first step to understand China， just as those in the Chinese class did.

So， is it possible for me to create the small opportunity？ The friendly and honest character of the Chinese people and China’s magnificent natural landscape and unique culture cannot be known to the world without real contact and communication. I want to share with the people around me what I saw， heard， and experienced in China， and make them interested bit by bit.

I have realized that international communication is not only for experts but also for ordinary people. There is no fixed format for China-Japan exchanges. The hero is each and every one of us. In fact， China-Japan friendship is around you and me.

Today， with the continuous development of globalization， mutual understanding and trust is more important than ever before. I am willing to be a practitioner of China-Japan friendship. A thousand-mile journey begins with the first step. It starts with me for contribution to China-Japan friendship！

Taking a good first step

Miyu Minegishi

Miyu Minegishi.

There are only a few months left in my high school study. Looking back on the three years， I feel very satisfied. It is not an overstatement to say that the biggest reason for that satisfaction is the luck I had to learn Chinese.

There are many international exchange programs in my high school every year. Students learning Chinese can take part in exchange activities in Beijing and Tianjin. At first， I was not so sure of my decision when I picked up the learning of Chinese. China seemed to me like a blank sheet of paper and I was not really interested in Chinese. Now it seems that choosing Chinese was a first step to change my life.

After entering school， I began to get in touch with Chinese culture and Chinese values. The pronunciation of the same Chinese character in Japanese was completely different from that in Chinese. These unknown charms attracted me. Listening to teachers talking about their experiences of going to China， I found them new and interesting since I had never been overseas. I thought that if I were to go abroad， the first place to go would be China.

D u e t o t h e o u t b r e a k o f COVID-19， the overseas exchange program for the second-grade students and the short-term study abroad for the third grade were cancelled. I felt very disappointed， for my expectations came to nothing for two consecutive years. My mood dropped to a freezing point！

To remedy the unfavorable situation caused by the pandemic， teachers in Japan and China made unremitting efforts to set up an online exchange platform for us to communicate with the students studying Japanese in Tianjin Foreign Language School.

My partner was Zhang Wenxuan， a high school student in his third year. I felt both excited and anxious， for it was my first time to communicate with a Chinese.

T h e s t r o n g d e s i r e f o r communication encouraged me to take the first step. “How do you do？ I am a Japanese student. Let’s do it together！”Zhang immediately wrote back， “How do you do？ Thank you for your letter！ I love Japanese anime very much.” And so our exchange began.

I had the impression that Zhang wanted to make friends with me and cherished this opportunity to communicate. Whether it was to choose a topic， or to search for information， he made serious preparations and talked to me in an earnest manner. I was very glad about it. In the presentation session， we gave speeches on “Holiday and Food Culture”， respectively， and achieved good results.

After the exchange program finished， Zhang and I still kept in touch through WeChat. Learning that I wanted to know about traditional Chinese culture， he explained to me in detail with text and pictures. I benefited a lot from it. The unusual experience I had last summer holiday was an unforgettable memory in my high school years.

Learning Chinese made me like China. The courage made me take the first step， which helped make my high school life plenitudinous. I have a whole life ahead of me. There will be a lot of difficulties and I must be brave in each stage of life. Through learning Chinese， I have acquired great spiritual wealth.