At the 191st Yukichi Fukuzawa Birthday Commemoration held on Saturday, January 10, the awards ceremony for the 50th Shinzo Koizumi National High School Essay Contest took place, and President Kohei Itoh presented certificates to the winners.
Following the commemoration, a customary social gathering was held with the winners, judges, and other related parties. The winners spoke candidly about the thoughts they put into their works and their writing processes, making it an opportunity for exchange that will lead to future learning and challenges. The gathering, where conversations transcended generations and positions, concluded in a peaceful atmosphere from start to finish.
Keio University has held this essay contest for high school students nationwide since 1976 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the passing of Dr. Shinzo Koizumi, who served as the President of Keio University from 1933 to 1947 and was also an outstanding writer. Its purpose is to pass on Dr. Koizumi's character and achievements to future generations and to contribute to the improvement of young people's writing skills. For this 50th contest, in addition to five assigned themes such as "Clarity" and "AI and Human Rights," a new "Open Theme" was established. Through the application period from May to August last year, 299 impressive works were submitted by high school students from across the country.
The winners are as follows.
The winning works and the judges' comments can be viewed here.
“Shinzo Koizumi Prize”
Ryotaro Toiyama (Kyoto Prefecture / Kyoto Municipal Murasakino High School, 2nd Year)
“Second Prize”
Kazuma Akira (Ibaraki Prefecture / Private S High School, 2nd Year)
“Honorable Mention” (Alphabetical Order)
Chihiro Ando (Aichi Prefecture / Private Seirei High School, 2nd Year)
Ayataka Saka (Yamanashi Prefecture / Private Yamanashi Gakuin High School, 2nd Year)
Sato Takenawa (Tokyo / Private Joshigakuin High School, 2nd Year)
Natsuki Hara (Tokyo / Private Hiroo Gakuen Koishikawa High School, 1st Year)
Tomoka Higaki (Kanagawa Prefecture / Private Chuo University Yokohama High School, 2nd Year)
*Mr. Ayataka Saka was absent from the awards ceremony.
Photography: Takeshi Kishi and others