Result of the third Japan-EU English Haiku Contest

September 4, 2012
Japanese

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the European Union (EU) hosted the third Japan-EU English Haiku Contest on the theme of "Dawn" from June 4 to July 30.
The total number of entries was 523: 104 entries from Japan and 419 entries from the EU member states as well as Croatia.
After careful examination, Ms. Yasuko Kurono and Mr. Zeshan Hayat were awarded First Prizes on the Japanese and EU sides respectively. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan will invite Mr. Zeshan Hayat to Matsuyama City, which is considered to be the birthplace of modern Haiku in Japan. The Delegation of the European Union to Japan will invite Ms. Yasuko Kurono to Belgium, the home country of Council President Mr. Herman Van Rompuy, an avid haiku poet himself as well as the place where several EU Institutions are headquartered.
Five honorable mentions were also selected in each section. The Japanese and the European winners will be offered small gifts from Matsuyama City and the EU.

(*The foregoing is a provisional translation. The date indicated above denotes the date of issue of the original press release in Japanese.)

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