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This is a contest by The Japan Foundation, Sydney that gives Japanese language users in Australia the opportunity to present their messages by using Japanese.

Presentation skills are indispensable for people with different ideas to exchange opinions and thoughts to understand each other. Especially in today’s world with advanced technologies, it has become common to use images and videos as well as words to convey messages. By communicating in this way, you can cross language barriers and reach a wider audience for mutual understanding in the world.

CONTEST FORMAT

Entries should be made directly to The Japan Foundation, Sydney. There are no state/territory level contests as a pre-requirement.

The contestant must be able to send a message to not only Japanese language users, but also to those who don’t know Japanese by using methods other than language itself.
The presentation must include a human voice speaking Japanese (artificial human voice is unacceptable), however the supporting contents don’t have to be in Japanese.

The Presentation Topic for 2026 is OUR ROLE IN STRENGTHENING THE AUSTRALIA-JAPAN PARTNERSHIP

DIVISIONS 

• High School Senior Division (Year 11 and 12)
• Open Division

HOW TO ENTER

1. Read the guidelines for details
2. Record your presentation in a video
3. Upload it to YouTube
4. Submit your entry form

Announcement Of The 2026 Winners!

In the third year in a row, NihonGO! Presentation Fest 2026 attracted an impressive array of outstanding presentations.

This year’s topic was “Our Roles in Strengthening the Australia-Japan Partnership” to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the signing of the basic treaty of friendship and co-operation between Japan and Australia. Each presentation has a different approach to this topic and discussed it in a unique way which is related to their own experience. And the judging was conducted based on the following points as in the past years.

Message (50%), Effect (20%), Structure (20%) and Language (10%)

Please note that due to strengthened policy and regulations regarding copyright, personal privacy, and portrait right, The Japan Foundation, Sydney has decided to refrain from sharing the winners’ presentation videos with the general public this year. Your understanding would be much appreciated.

Congratulations to all the prize winners!

2026 High School Senior Division  

1st Prize — Oshikatsu and the Importance of Being a Fan: This presentation brings to light how Japan’s “oshikatsu” (activities undertaken to support one’s favourite idols, characters, etc.) has now spread around the world, creating a variety of communities, and proposes that it can help promote exchange between Australia and Japan. The conclusion that small actions such as oshikatsu can create connections between people and cultures, deepen mutual understanding among young people, and help foster people with intercultural understanding strengthens the persuasiveness of the presentation’s argument.

2nd Prize — OUR ROLE IN STRENGTHENING THE AUSTRALIA-JAPAN PARTNERSHIP: This presentation identifies the recent challenges involved with the increase in foreign visitors to Japan, including Australians, and the accompanying difficulties of inappropriate behaviour by some foreign tourists. It also points out that Australians tend to concentrate their visits in a limited number of well-known destinations. The presentation was highly regarded for introducing appropriate manners to observe when visiting Japan, as well as recommended destinations outside the famous urban areas, with reasons given for each recommendation.

3rd Prize — Bunkasai and Bunkakouryuu: This presentation proposes cultural festivals organised by high school students to further deepen exchange between Australia and Japan. It presents several benefits of holding events to introduce each other’s cultures at both Australian and Japanese high schools. They would provide students with opportunities to use each other’s languages, allow each culture to be introduced more widely to the communities surrounding the schools, generate income through the sale of food and other items, and give students an opportunity to develop a sense of responsibility and co-operation by working together to prepare for and run the events.

2026 Open Division  

1st Prize — You Would Be Proud: This presentation introduces the speaker’s work organising Japanese-language exchange activities as a place where people can connect with one another. It argues that, rather than building relationships between countries solely through large-scale institutions and systems, it is important to value connections between individuals. Looking back on their time as a high school student, the speaker gives concrete examples, based on their personal experiences, of how they have remained connected with Japan and the Japanese language up to the present day, and what they have gained through Japanese-language exchange.

2nd Prize — We Are the Bridge: The presentation argues that, by people like the speaker who are interested in Japan introducing Japan to those around them, more people will come to understand the country. In other words, the message that the meaning of learning Japanese lies not simply in knowing words, but in understanding the culture and becoming a bridge through which that understanding can be shared with others, was particularly compelling.

3rd Prize — Tourism and Exchange: Focusing on the 50th anniversary of Australia-Japan relations, this presentation argues that the strong bilateral relationship between Japan and Australia is built on connections between their people. As examples of these connections, it introduces the value of experiences such as tourism and exchange programs and argues that the role of citizens is to get to know one another and discuss future mutual co-operation.

2026 Special Prize 

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This presentation in Open Division had a unique approach of presenting the ingredients needed to help build a strong Australia-Japan partnership in the form of a ramen recipe. Using several events that take place through interactions between Japanese students studying at an Australian university and Australian students as examples, it assigns each of the things that should be valued in these situations to a different ramen ingredient and introduces them in an engaging way. We hope that this recipe for creating connections between people and maintaining those relationships will become known to many people.

Past Contests

ENQUIRIES

Japanese Language Department

(02) 8239 0055