Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received a courtesy call at the Prime Minister's Office from the top winners of the 27th High School Speech Contest on the Northern Territories.

This event is participated in by high school students in Hokkaido, with the aim of fostering an interest and understanding among the youth, who will take charge in the next generation, with regard to the Northern Territories issue and the campaign for their return, as well as further raising public awareness of the issue. This year, the contest was held in Sapporo City, Hokkaido, on January 19.

The Prime Minister said in his address,

"Today, I extend to you my congratulations on winning the contest.
It is truly encouraging that people from the younger generations like you two here are paying attention to the Northern Territories issue and writing speeches. It is fundamental for a country to protect its territory and territorial waters, and therefore it is very important to have young people understand territorial issues and make assertions based on their own ideas. Thus, I believe this speech contest is meaningful, also in terms of fostering human resources to make an appeal to international organizations. In such context, I would like to thank you two for writing brilliant speeches. Congratulations."