Top �� What's up around the Prime Minister �� November, 2002

Recipients of the Prime Minister's Truck Driver Contest Award Pay Courtesy Call on the Prime Minister Friday, November 22, 2002 The recipients of the Prime Minister's Truck Driver Contest Award paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. The Truck Driver Contest is sponsored each year by the Japan Trucking Association with the support of the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the National Police Agency under the slogan of "Aiming for Zero Traffic Accidents." This year's contest included participation by 182 individuals (including 21 women) who triumphed at regional contests in which approximately 4,000 people participated. The participants competed to determine the best truck driver in Japan in a written examination of traffic regulations and vehicle structures and a practical examination of driving ability and vehicle maintenance and inspection. Prime Minister Koizumi had a friendly meeting with Prime Minister's Truck Driver Contest Award winner Mr. Hiromichi Shiozawa, who represented Tochigi Prefecture, and winners of other divisions, and joined the group for a commemorative photograph.