Cultural Exchange

1. The World Cosplay Summit 2019 was held from July 27th to August 4th in Tokyo and Nagoya. It marked the 17th round of the Summit. The World Cosplay Championship took place on August 4 with participation from representatives selected in preliminary rounds held in 24 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 Australia. They were awarded the Foreign Minister’s Prize from Mr. Kazuhiro Kawase, Director of the Cultural Affairs and Overseas Public Relations Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2. Cosplay, a form of pop culture originated in Japan, has been playing a role as a gateway to Japanese culture for people overseas including young people and creating opportunities 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.
3. Tokyo-round was held for the first time this year. Ms. Mitsuko SHINO, Director-General for Cultural Affairs /Assistant Minister (Ambassador) encouraged cosplayers on July 26th.

World Cosplay Summit

The World Cosplay Summit began in 2003 and this year is the 17th round at the Summit. The event is co-hosted by the Ministry, Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya City, Chunichi Shinbun 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 World Cosplay Championship has been held since 2005 and was competed by representative teams from 40 countries and regions including Japan this year.