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Courtesy Call on Mr. Taro Aso, Minister for Foreign Affairs, by Award Winners of the 21st High School Students' Speech Contest on the Northern Territories

March 13, 2007

1. On 13th March, 2007, two high school students, the award winners of the 21st High School Students' Speech Contest on the Northern Territories held in Sapporo on 20th January, paid a courtesy call on Mr. Taro Aso, Minister for Foreign Affairs.
   • Best Performance Winner: Mr. Yoshiaki Togawa (Second year student of Asahikawa University High School)
   • Runner-up: Ms. Sakura Komido (First year student of Hokkaido Obihiro Sanjo High School)
2. Mr. Aso first expressed congratulations to the students on their success, and talked about the atmosphere of the speech contest and his experiences of involving with activities to claim the return of the Northern Territories as a civilian in the past. Mr. Aso also encouraged the students to keep on working hard.
3. This speech contest has been held in Sapporo every year since 1987 by the League for the Return of the Northern Territories Inc., the organization overseen by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in order to arouse public opinion on the claim to the return of the Northern Territories. Fifty four speeches from high school students in Hokkaido were sent in for the contest and 14 applicants advanced to the final stage this year.

Related Information (Japan's Northern Territories)