JASCO Hosts the 27th Ohio Japanese Speech Contest at The Ohio State University
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March 21, 2026 | Columbus, Ohio
The 27th Ohio Japanese Speech Contest (オハイオ州日本語弁論大会) was held on March 21, 2026, at The Ohio State University.
Following an initial review conducted by a selection committee consisting of JASCO board and staff members, 12 finalists were invited to compete in the final round. The finalists delivered thoughtful and inspiring speeches, showcasing not only their Japanese language proficiency but also their personal experiences, cultural understanding, and passion for communication.
The First Place was presented to Cody Slimak of Oberlin College for his speech, オハイオにずっとあった日本 (“My Japan That Was Always in Ohio”), in which he reflected on personal family memories connected to Japan and explored how Japanese culture had always been present in his life in Ohio.
Second Place was awarded to Yankai Xie of Case Western Reserve University for おじさんが教えてくれたこと (“The Lesson From an Old Guy”). Through a dynamic and engaging presentation, he shared lessons learned from a memorable encounter with an older gentleman in China.
The Special Award was presented to Will Davis of Dublin Scioto High School for 手に入れた言語 (“Hands-on Language Learning”), which explored his experience learning sign language and the valuable insights he gained through that journey.
Congratulations to all of the award recipients and the twelve finalists who participated in this year’s contest. All finalist speeches are available to watch online through our speech contest video archive. https://www.jascentralohio.org/speech-contest
JASCO extends its sincere gratitude to The Ohio State University for hosting this year’s event. We are also deeply grateful for the generous support and contributions that made the contest possible. Special thanks go to David Cook, Noriko Mills, Mari Noda, Janet Smith, and Anthony Weis for their invaluable support and dedication.
We look forward to welcoming participants and supporters back for the 28th Ohio Japanese Speech Contest, which will be hosted at Oberlin College on March 13, 2027.
See more photos of the event here:
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