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Event Report (YYYY)

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The 2011 Emperor’s Birthday Function

The Emperor’s Birthday was celebrated on Wednesday, December 7 with a reception at Consul-General Sobashima’s official residence. The reception was attended by over 360 people including State and Federal Parliamentary Ministers, and community and business leaders.

Speeches were made by the Consul-General, and the Hon Louise Asher, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business and Minister for Tourism and Major Events. In his speech the Consul General expressed his deep gratitude to the Australian people for the support given to Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake and spoke of the strength of the Australia-Japan relationship. A toast was made to the Queen and the people of Australia, whilst Louise Asher made a toast to the Emperor of Japan. As part of the refreshments, guests were able to enjoy sake from Miyagi prefecture, one of the prefectures recovering from significant damage after the earthquake.

International "Poetry for Peace" Contest Award Ceremony held in Melbourne







 On Wednesday, December 14 an award ceremony was held at the offices of the Consulate-General of Japan in Melbourne to present the second place prize in the Poetry for Peace Contest to Ms Hashela Kumarawansa. The Poetry for Peace Contest is an international competition that was organised by the Government of Japan in close cooperation with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs and the UN Department of Public Information.

Ms Hashela Kumarawansa is a student at Keilor Downs College, having recently completed Year 11. Ms Kumarawansa’s poem “How Can I Forget” was selected for the second prize from a total of 741 submitted poems. The competition was designed to bring together poets from across the globe in their consideration of the pursuit of world peace.

Consul-General Sobashima presented Ms Kumarawansa with a signed certificate of distinction from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Koichiro Gemba, and addressed the audience, who included journalists from both the English language and Japanese language press. In his speech, Mr Sobashima spoke of his personal involvement with the global Nuclear Disarmament process and encouraged Ms Kumarawansa to continue to promote the discussion of peace amongst her peers.