Ms. Rina Misawa, a 3rd year student at the Faculty of Letters majoring in Chinese Language & Culture, won the Youth Division Speech Contest held at the "7th Ozaki Yukio (Gakudo) Memorial Speech Contest in Sagamihara." The contest was held in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture on November 22nd (Sunday).

The contest revives the political spirit of Mr. Yukio Ozaki (Gakudo), who is known as the "father of parliamentary government" and the "god of constitutionalism in Japan." The contest has been held since 2003 and provides an opportunity for young people with political aspirations to speak regarding the future of Japan and their personal lifestyle.

The contest is held in two segments. The first segment is a speech contest and the second segment is a panel debate. Ms. Misawa appeared as one of the 5 finalists in the Youth Division Speech Contest. She won the contest by delivering a speech with the theme of "Forging the Sword into a Plow."

Yukio Ozaki:
A politician who devoted his life to the realization of true democratic government and world peace. He participated in movements for democratic rights from a young age, and traveled overseas (America and England) when he was ordered to leave Tokyo as part of the Peace Preservation Law. However, in 1890, he ran and was elected in the Mie Prefecture legislature in Japan's first general election. Afterwards, he was elected 25 consecutive times for a period of 63 years, a Japanese record. His main aspirations were to abolish militarism and to establish a democratic government. He never succumbed to the pressure of ruling factions and he was always an ally of the public masses. His eloquence in speaking was unrivaled, and he was called the "god of constitutionalism" when movements began to advocate a constitutional government.

[Outside of University]Homepage of the "Association to Bring Yukio Ozaki to All of Japan"