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 Japan Wizards Remarks

By Consul General Kamo

February 26, 2011

Good Afternoon! Aloha!

Thank you for having us here this morning. We are about to be informed who has won the competition. The Award giving ceremony is just minutes away. Tension is rising and your expectation is soaring. I know my role here. It’s kind of a comedian role that I should play to relieve your tension and nervousness.

Each one of you by this time must have been exhausted in outwitting the others all this morning. I would like to offer hearty congratulations to you for you have done your best, regardless of the outcome of the competition. Everybody demonstrated his or her intellectual power, language skills and eagerness to overwhelm the other teams. Preparing for the Japan Wizards competition gives you the best learning opportunity of Japanese language and Japan itself. Now that you poured your time and talent that much into Japan and its language, you have got to keep studying Japanese after you enter your college. I assume that many of you are high school senior and are going to be college students soon. It is rewarding to obtain Japanese language skills. They will make a difference in your life and you are almost there.

We are much fortunate to observe the heated competition that we had a chance to be present. Indeed, observing the actual competition by sitting in the same classroom this morning really got me excited. It is really challenging to respond correctly to these difficult questions. At the same time, today’s session provided me with new perspectives to get to know the Japan Wizards competition better. I came to know that so many people, dedicated people are actually running this very important event behind the scene. Hat off to the question committee, for instance, for your contribution to making the competition most informative and alive with your nasty questions. The moderator, judge and time keeper play their respective role in the competition. It is a great team work that makes possible   

JASH is synonymous with a great bridging facilitator between Hawaii and Japan. It engages in many exchange programs and delivers Hawaii’s goodwill to Japan through various means. I laud their commitment and achievements. Among many JASH undertakings, Japan Wizard is arguably the most successful event, involving many young and talented people. It also gets involved with many engaging volunteers in the community. And of course it is supported by many generous sponsors. Without their financial support, this exciting weekend event will never happen.

Japan Wizard participants in Hawaii are lucky. It is gratifying that many students from other islands are participating in the event. It is a great mixer among young people in Hawaii. Participation is more important than winning. Meanwhile, those who win this competition will be granted a free trip to Japan. I am sure that they will love their trip to Japan. My only hope is that they vigorously seek opportunities to meet with their Japanese peers and provoke them that the U.S. is even a better place than Japan. As you know that the young people in Japan now are said to be inward looking and less interested in going overseas.

Well, I think I have spoken too much. Yes, you want to hear the result now. Congratulations in advance!