Photo= After giving speeches in Japanese, foreign participants receive questions from the audience (Shokado Garden Art Museum meeting hall, Yawata, Yawata City)

A presentation event in Japanese by foreigners living in Yawata City, Kyoto Prefecture, was held at a meeting hall of Shokado Garden Art Museum in Yawata, Yawata City, on March 25. Vietnamese, Pakistani and other foreigners gave fluent speeches about cultural differences and impressions of Japan.

The presenters were five people who study at "Sekai wa Teman," a Japanese language school in Yawata City. According to a man from Indonesia, who is married to a Japanese woman, there is no habit of eating uncooked food in his hometown. Every time his wife buys sushi, he heats it in a microwave oven. He aroused the audience's enthusiasm when he said, "It becomes warm and changes in color, and finally it becomes delicious sushi. Everybody, please try it."

During a question-and-answer session, the presenters mentioned what surprised them when they came to Japan, including people putting on make-up on trains, the cleanliness of roads, and the large number of crows. A presenter sang enthusiastically a favorite Japanese song and the hall resounded with applause.

This presentation was planned as its 40th Anniversary event by the Rotary Club of Kyoto Yawata, which works on giving support to foreigners.

Before the presentations, the Kyoto Prefectural International Center, which is based in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, introduced the current state and issues of Japanese language classrooms nationwide, and then the Yawata police station staff explained traffic rules.