Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Students of Uzbekistan took part in a tournament playing Japanese cards on 16 March. The traditional Japanese game has become another opportunity for young people not only to show their level of Japanese language proficiency, but also to do it in a fun and creative way.

The Japanese Ambassador to Uzbekistan Hatori Takashi welcomed the participants at the opening of the tournament. He noted the great interest of modern Uzbek youth in studying the culture, language, and traditions of their country.

The tournament was organized by the Embassy of Japan in Uzbekistan and held at the International Caravanserai of Culture Ikuo Hirayama.

Some 24 students studying Japanese in educational institutions in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara took part in the creative competition. These are representatives of the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, Tashkent State University of Law, Tashkent State University of Economics, Uzbek State University of World Languages, University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages, Japan Digital University and the Uzbek-Japan Center, including its branch in Bukhara.

For each of them, interest in Japan appeared in their own way. Thus, according to Dilobar Farkhodova, a student at the Tashkent State Economic University, as a teenager she fell in love with Japanese anime - such as “Magic Battle” and others. Thus began the path to understanding the culture of the Land of the Rising Sun, both traditional and modern - in music, anime and other areas. The Japanese language is taught at this university by both teachers from Uzbekistan and specialists from Japan itself. The girl dreams of definitely visiting there and also getting an education.

And students of the Tashkent State Law University have the opportunity to study Japanese at the Japanese Language Research Center, opened at this university in collaboration with Nagoya University. That is why TSUL student Dilnoza Alikulova decided to take part in the tournament.

“I am studying Japanese, striving to work in Japan in the future as an international lawyer and contribute to the development of Uzbek-Japanese relations,” notes D. Alikulova.

Participation in the Japanese card tournament was an exciting opportunity for students to understand the importance of foreign language skills in order to continually increase their competitiveness. To achieve victory, initiative, the ability to concentrate, and the desire to achieve goals also play a big role here - what they will need to build a successful career.

The essence of the game is to, after listening to a saying in Japanese, be able to correctly and faster than others find on the cards the hieroglyph with which it begins. As Ambassador Hatori Takashi said, such competitions are traditionally held in his homeland during the New Year holidays, when people get together and immerse themselves in the pre-New Year atmosphere. And in modern Japan, different generations are fond of playing cards, including young people, despite all their addictions to computer games. After all, everyone knows that in order to take part in it, you need to know the Japanese language well, and the Japanese are traditionally distinguished by their desire to test their knowledge.

Hatori Takashi notes that such competitions for Uzbek citizens always show a good level. Moreover, having already twice attended the Republican Oratory Competition in Japanese in Tashkent, he believes that Uzbek students deliver speeches in Japanese even better than many Japanese.

“I saw at the competition how the best students of Uzbek universities express their feelings very well in Japanese. At a level sometimes even higher than that of native Japanese speakers themselves, because the Japanese are often shy and therefore cannot publicly express their feelings so well. So in this sense, I think that such oratorical talents of Uzbek people can be brighter than those of the Japanese themselves,” says the Ambassador of Japan.

The holding of the tournament was another step in developing interest in learning the Japanese language in Uzbekistan, stimulating the educational process among students and in-depth acquaintance with the culture of Japan.

And the first three places at the end of the tournament were awarded to students of the Uzbek State University of World Languages. The winners were Samandar Berdiyorov, Diyorbek Kholmuminov and Samira Gainutdinova.