On the Abacus Festival (August 8), 676 contestants from around Japan and 5 invited contestants from South Korea gather in the Kyoto International Conference Center for the 2019 All-Japan Abacus Skills Championship..

Mr. Kenichi Inoue (井上賢一) (MEXT) delivered an inspiring speech. Senator Secretory Shoko Shibata (柴田翔子) and other guests also made encouraging comments. Yui Nakamura (中村友結) (Kochi Prefecture) made the vow on behalf of all contestants.

This year’s competition venue was changed from the main conference hall to the activity hall, narrowing the distance between contestants and audiences. In this way, audience could appreciate the wonderful skills and soaring morale of contestants at a close range. The symphony of abacus bead echoed on the venue, showing audiences with a comfortable sense of tense. When the ending signal sounded, the competition venue quieted down and audiences felt suddenly relaxed.

The competition went smoothly, with a total of 25 contestants scoring 1,480 points each. Contestant Hiroaki Tsuchiya (土屋宏明) won the title of “Japan’s No. 1 Abacus Player” for the 10th time. In commending the outstanding primary schoolers of the individual comprehensive competition, Kodai Ginama (宜名真幸大) (Okinawa Prefecture) won the title of “Japan’s No. 1 Abacus Player Among Primary Schoolers” with 1,465 points.

(This news is reproduced from the National Abacus News of the League for Soroban Education of Japan. Inc., Japan)