Top > What's up around the Prime Minister > December, 2004

Recipients of the Prime Minister's Truck Driver Contest Award Pay Courtesy Call on the Prime Minister Monday, December 6, 2004 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 181 participants (including 19 women) who triumphed at regional contests in which approximately 4,000 people took part. The participants competed to determine the best truck driver in Japan through a written examination of traffic regulations and vehicle structures, and a practical examination of driving skills, and vehicle maintenance and inspection. Prime Minister Koizumi had a friendly meeting with Mr. Masahiro Miyake, the representative of Hyogo Prefecture and winner of the Prime Minister's Truck Driver Contest Award, and other division winners, and joined the group for a commemorative photograph.