A graduate university student won the Grand Prize at the 8th Annual All Japan Student English Presentation Contest in Tokyo on Saturday with a proposal for a convictive Working Holiday plan to attract foreigners to Fukushima Prefecture.
Trishit Banerjee, a first-year student at Tohoku University's Graduate School of Science, articulated his "Fukushima From You" plan in his presentation for the final round of the contest, held at the Yomiuri Otemachi Hall in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.
Under his plan, foreign applicants would work at locations such as fruit orchards and hot spring inns in Fukushima Prefecture, which they would choose by way of a matching process. They could also experience Japanese culture firsthand through events including calligraphy and kokeshi doll-making. He emphasized that his plan would ease labor shortages in the area that was hit by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami, and could be adapted to aid in the recovery of other disaster-hit areas.
"This is unbelievable. I would really like to thank the people of Fukushima, who really gave me time and helped me in this entire project," said Banerjee, who came from India and has studied in Japan since 2015.
Kyoshin Sasahara, a junior at Bunkyo Gakuin University, who proposed creating an app that tracks food purchases and expiration dates as a way to to reduce food waste, earned the Best Individual Award.
The Best Group Award went to a team of Riko Yuji and Nao Kurosumi, seniors at the University of Tokyo, and Motohiro Aikawa, a senior at Hitotsubashi University, who proposed a workshop for junior high school students to consider gender equality.
Eimi Watanabe, a senior at Yokohama City University, won the Impressive Individual Award, while Ayumi Okochi and Yurina Minato, freshmen at Kanda Institute of Foreign Languages won the Impressive Group Award.
This year, 793 students from 209 universities, graduate schools, technical colleges and vocational schools took part in the contest, which was organized by the Kanda Gaigo Group and The Yomiuri Shimbun. Students who reached the final round gave presentations up to 10 minutes long in English, using slides and other visual media, and answered questions from judges and the audience.
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