Cultural Exchange

1. The World Cosplay Summit 2016 was held from July 30th to August 7th in Nagoya. It was the 14th round of the Summit. The World Cosplay Championship took place on August 7 with participation from representatives selected in preliminary rounds held in 30 countries and regions worldwide, including Japan. Each participating country or region was represented by a team of two cosplayers dressed in costumes from Japanese anime, manga and video games. The championship was won by Team Indonesia. They were awarded the Foreign Minister’s Prize from Mr. Makita Shimokawa, Director-General for Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2. Cosplay, a form of pop culture originated in Japan, has been creating opportunities for people overseas including young people to deepen their interest in and understanding towards Japan as well as to participate in international exchanges. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has awarded Foreign Minister’s Prize on the champion team as a member of the Executive Committee of the Summit since 2009.
   The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also welcomes a visit by representative teams of the Summit every year. On August 4, a total of eight cosplayers from Canada, India, Sweden and Switzerland visited the Ministry on behalf of the Summit’s participants and paid a courtesy call on Mr. Makita Shimokawa, Director-General for Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while wearing their costumes.

World Cosplay Summit
The World Cosplay Summit began in 2003 and this year is the 14th round at the Summit. The event is co-hosted by the Ministry, Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya City, Chunichi Shimbun and others with the aim of contributing to the “creation of international exchange through youth culture originated in Japan” through Japanese anime, manga and video games.　The event includes the Red Carpet Parade that takes place on the main street in Nagoya City. The World Cosplay Championship has been held since 2005 and was competed by representative teams from 30 countries and regions including Japan this year.