UP grad wins over P100,000 in intl essay tilt in Japan

A graduate of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City won Y200,000 (P112,344) for his essay about the vision of a new Japan after the devastating magnitude-9 quake and tsunami on March 11 last year. Chiden Balmes won the Prize of Excellence in the Japan Foreign Trade Council Inc. (JFTC) Essay Competition 2011, with his essay titled “The Making of New Innovative Japan: Road Map to Great Recovery.”   "Balmes was among the top two entries from 186 submissions from 43 countries who joined the essay competition with the theme 'Vision for a New Japan after 3.11,'" the Philippine Embassy in Japan said on Monday. The full text of Balmes’ essay may be accessed at the website of the JFTC. Balmes topped the 2007 batch of BS Public Administration of the University of the Philippines-Diliman when he graduated magna cum laude. Balmes is now taking a masters course at the Catholic University of Korea.   The embassy said Balmes’ prize-winning essay earned unanimous praise from JFTC Essay Competition selection committee members for “the clear, structured way in which the author frames his thoughts.”   In his essay, the committee said Balmes “frames his argument by saying that Japan needs to become an ‘innovation superpower’, and compellingly outlines the potential Japan has in three areas: Entrepreneurial Japan; Green Japan; and Global Japan."   The committee also noted Balmes concluded his essay by positioning "3.11" (March 11, 2011) earthquake and tsunami as a major opportunity for Japan to the become an innovation superpower.   Nicole Brown of Jamaica won the Grand Prize of ¥1 million for her essay titled “Japan v3.11-Reclaiming the Date.”   The awarding ceremonies were held on January 6 in Tokyo. JFTC was founded in June 1947 as a core private-sector organization in the area of international trade. It has a nationwide membership of private companies and organizations such as trading companies and organizations, manufacturers, financial institutions, shipping companies, and other companies and organizations with interests in international trade. - VVP, GMA News