KUWAIT: A group picture of the participants in the contest.

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: The Japanese Society in Kuwait, Center for Community Service and Continuing Education and Kuwait University recently hosted the 14th Japanese speech contest at the National Library. Japanese Ambassador to Kuwait Takaoka Masato welcomed the guests, including Kuwait University’s Assistant Vice President Prof Mohammad Al-Dhafiri. Eleven participants tackled subjects related to Kuwait or Japan. The Japanese envoy conveyed his admiration of Kuwaiti students over their desire to learn Japanese, considered among the hardest languages to learn. “I am happy to be part of this event, as I wrap up my stay in this beautiful country, Kuwait. I will definitely leave very satisfied as my country’s ambassador to the State of Kuwait,” Masato said.

“I admire the people studying Japanese. We are happy that some Kuwaitis are into it. It’s really an effort to study Japanese, especially if you are a native Arabic speaker. I wish them success. This speech contest has been ongoing for the last 14 years, but last year we were not able to hold the contest because of the pandemic,” the ambassador added. He thanked Kuwait University, the Center for Community Service and Continuing Education and the National Library of Kuwait for hosting this year’s contest. Participants included Arua Al-Adhi, Fahad Awad, Fatima Ashkanani, Ibrahim Al-Adwani, Noor Al-Khalyat, Reem Al-Oraibi, Sarah Hesa, Sheikha Al-Hashas, Shayma Al-Hashas and Shaima Al-Faisal.