22nd Annual JASH Japan Wizards Statewide Academic Team Competition, presented by Hawaiian Airlines
Congratulations to the 102 students who represented 19 high schools from Oahu, Hawaiʻi and Maui at the 22nd Annual JASH Japan Wizards Statewide Academic Team Competition (JWC), presented by Hawaiian Airlines, on Saturday, February 22, 2025 at UH Mānoa Campus Center! Teams were comprised of three students each, with a total of 34 teams competing. The student-teams were tested on their knowledge of various Japan-related topics such as contemporary Japan, culture and traditions, geography, history, politics, U.S./Hawaii-Japan ties, language, and more. The theme for the 2025 competition was The Beauty of Traditional Japanese Arts.
Students were divided into two levels: Level A or Level B, depending on their current Japanese language level. Level A students are enrolled in Japanese I or II, and Level B students are enrolled in Japanese III or IV.
WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE OVERALL FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD PLACE WINNERS BY LEVEL:
Level A
1st place: Hawaii Baptist Academy
2nd place: Farrington High School
3rd place: Hanalani Schools
Level B
1st place, Tateuchi Memorial Award and ICU Special Award winner (For highest number of points in the overall competition): ʻIolani School
2nd place: King Kekaulike High School
3rd place: ʻAiea High School
Each year, JASH awards trips to Japan to the top scoring public and private school teams in each level. Please note that the school whose team won a trip to Japan through competition scores in 2024 JWC were eligible to win a trip this year via competition scores. We are pleased to announce the JWC Japan trip winners as follows:
Hawaii Baptist Academy Level A Team, Japan Trip Winner for Level A, Private School
Farrington High School Level A Team, Japan Trip Winner for Level A, Public School
Level A: Hawaii Baptist Academy (private) and Farrington High School (public)
Level B: ʻIolani School (private) and King Kekaulike High School (public)
ʻIolani School Level B Team, Japan Trip Winner for Level B, Private
King Kekaulike High School Level B, Japan Trip Winner for Level B, Public
In addition, JASH Board Director and Youth Education Committee Chair Jean E. Rolles sponsored a fifth award for a trip to Japan in honor of her friend and fellow JASH Board Director, Dr. Michael Leineweber, who passed away in 2014. Dr. Leineweber was a loyal supporter of JASH who strongly believed in the educational programs that JASH conducts, especially those programs that encouraged exchanges between people from Japan and Hawaii. In his memory, Ms. Rolles sponsored a team chosen through a random drawing during the JWC awards ceremony. To qualify for this drawing, the team must have scored at least 120 points at the competition, video component points included. The four teams who had already won Japan trips were not eligible for this drawing.
Kalani High School Level B Team, Winner of the Dr. Leineweber Award
The winner of the Dr. Michael Leineweber Award was: Kalani High School Level B.
These five teams of three students and their advisors will travel to Japan to experience firsthand what they studied in the classroom and through independent research.
This year, students were invited to create a video that illustrates the significance of traditional Japanese arts in today's society and which art form they would like to explore more in depth. JASH received a total of 22 video entries, and 6 of those were selected as "finalists." Of these final 6, four were given top awards in the following categories:
Most Representative of the Theme/Topic: Leilehua High School Level B
https://youtu.be/FplKt3veGd4?si=_D5I3yko6u2XSDWu
Most Inspirational: Hanalani Schools Level B
Most Educational: Waiakea High School Level A
Best Produced: Kalani High School Level A
https://youtu.be/VTRME2Ky_64?feature=shared
In addition to the awards given to the top scoring teams, JASH also gave away prizes to 6 lucky students who completed our College Fair Trivia Quiz. We also ran a social media campaign for an iPad Mini giveaway, generously sponsored by Temple University, Japan Campus. In order to enter, students had to follow us on social media and tag us using #2025JWC. They could also enter a bonus entry if they shared a photo or video of them practicing for the JWC. Congratulations to Izaiah Estacio, from Konawaena High School!
Student Izaiah Estacio, winner of the iPad Mini Giveaway, sponsored by Temple University, Japan Campus
Between competition rounds, students were kept busy with numerous activity stations in the Activity Center. These included chopsticks, fukuwarai, karuta, kendama, ohajiki, origami, and other fun Japanese activities.
Students were also provided opportunities to explore higher education options in Japan and Hawaii at our College Fair between competition rounds. The following JASH corporate member and supporting institutions participated in the College Fair: Fukuoka Foreign Language College; Hawaii Tokai International College/Tokai University; International Christian University; Japan Exchange and Teaching Program; License Academy; Meikai University; Rikkyo University; SOSHI Educational Group (International Pacific University and Tokyo Management College); Temple University, Japan Campus; and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, College of Social Sciences.
Thank you to our title sponsor Hawaiian Airlines and other major supporters–Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation; College of Social Sciences, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa; Freeman Foundation; Halekulani; Hawaii Hotel Industry Foundation; International Christian University; Ms. Jean Rolles; JTB Hawaii; Kosasa Foundation; License Academy; Lighthouse Hawaii; and Temple University, Japan Campus–who through the JWC, encourage high school students to study about Japan and the many fascinating topics associated with it.
We were also honored to have Ms. Leimomi Hall and Ms. Esther Suh from Hawaiian Airlines join the Awards Ceremony and present Japan trip awards to winning teams. As our title sponsor, Hawaiian Airlines generously provides round trip tickets to Japan for the four winning teams as well as inter-island tickets to neighbor island school teams to participate in the JWC. Neighbor island school students (Konawaena High School, Waiakea High School, King Kekaulike High School, and St. Joseph High School) had the chance to thank them in person and also present thank you cards to be shared with their colleagues at Hawaiian Airlines.
JASH would also like to thank Dr. Denise Konan, Dean and Mr. Spencer Kimura, Director of International Programs, College of Social Sciences, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for the generous use of the UH Mānoa facilities and their support of the Japan Wizards Competition.
Finally, our gratitude goes to the 50+ volunteers who helped the JWC run smoothly and volunteered their Saturday a few weeks ago for a training session. Volunteers were from organizations that included the Japan Exchange and Teaching Alumni Association of Hawaii, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Kapiolani Community College, Hawaii Alpha Delta Kappa, Hawaii Tokai International College, and JCI Honolulu, just to name a few. Without their tremendous support, the JWC would not have been possible. Thank you and we look forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s JWC!
