World Cosplay Summit 2012
Conferement of Foreign Minister's prize

August 2012
Japanese

The World Cosplay Summit 2012, which marked its 10th anniversary this year, saw winners of preliminary rounds from 20 countries, including Japan. On July 31st, (total of six) first-time-participants from Indonesia, Russian Federation and the United Kingdom paid a courtesy call to Mr. Ryuji Yamane, Parliamentary Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on behalf of all participants.

On August 4th, the World Cosplay Championship was held in Nagoya. The winning team from Japan was bestowed with the Foreign Minister's Prize from Mr. Koji Yonetani, Director of Cultural Affairs Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[Notes]

1. Overview of World Cosplay Summit

The World Cosplay Summit, which started in 2003 when five guest cosplayers were invited from Italy, Germany, and France for the program “Manga is the Common Language of the World” by TV Aichi, marked its 10th anniversary this year. The World Cosplay Championship has been held since 2005, with participants from 20 different countries, including Japan.

2. Purpose of World Cosplay Summit

The summit aims to contribute to the "creation of international exchange through youth culture which originate in Japan" with the help of manga and anime.

3. World Cosplay Summit and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Having enjoyed strong international popularity in recent years, cosplay has been attracting many people, especially the youth, from all over the world, helping them to develop their interest in Japanese culture, and encouraging many people to participate in international exchange. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers the World Cosplay Summit to be beneficial as it prompts people to develop their interest in Japanese culture through pop culture. Hence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been granting a name sponsorship to the project from 2006 to 2008 and has been a member of the hosting Executive Committee since 2009. Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been also conferring a Foreign Minister's Prize for the event since 2007.