Undergraduate Dominic Oben Wins Prize at Japanese Speaking Competition

Pembroke undergraduate Dominic Oben (BA Oriental Studies, Japanese, 2016) has won 3rd prize at the Final of the 12th Japanese Speech Contest for University Students, held on 4th March 2017. The event was organised by the British Association for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language (BATJ) and the Japan Foundation.

Participants delivered speeches on a diverse range of topics to an audience of over 200 people at King’s College, London. The addressees included prominent figures in UK-based Japanese companies and organisations working in the area of Japan-UK relations.

20 finalists were selected from 88 applications that represented 18 universities across the UK. The organisers commented that Dominic did incredibly well to make the final stage and observed the ‘high-calibre’ of competition.

Dominic delivered an engaging talk, titled ‘The significance of aesthetic values in contemporary Japan and their relationship with the Japanese identity’. He told us: ‘My speech focused on changing attitudes among Japanese young people to traditional aesthetics, and how ideals such as beauty being found in imperfection are being ignored in favour of Western principles and culture.’

The fact that Dominic was one of the younger competitors highlights the significance of his achievement. Overall he found the competition to be a really positive experience and commented:

‘The applicants to the category I entered are usually fourth-year university students, so to have made it to the final as a first-year student and actually come third was really surprising! Overall, being able to speak to an audience about a topic I am passionate about as well as meet other students studying Japanese and hear their speeches made it a very rewarding experience, and I hope to enter again in the future!’

Find out more about the 2017 competition on the BATJ website.