2025 New Zealand Schools Japanese Trivia Championships🏆

Compiled by Chisato Yoshioka, Japanese National Language Adviser, Tui Tuia | Learning Circle.

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The 2025 Japanese Trivia Quiz was held on Friday 13 June, across nine regions throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. At the same time, students gathered at venues in Auckland, Waikato, Manawatū, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington, Tasman, Canterbury, Otago and Southland to take part in the exact same quiz.

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Open to Year 7–10 students, the quiz focused on Japanese culture and general knowledge, with topics including sports and festivals, pop culture, geography, food, and daily life.

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In each region, students from different schools came together to compete in a fun and friendly quiz. A winning team was chosen at each venue, and there was also a prize for the best-dressed team in a Japanese theme.

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Now, let’s take a look at what happened across the country!

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🗺️Auckland

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As in previous years, 10 schools and 20 teams (80 students) took part. Including senior student volunteers, parents, teachers, and guests, around 150 people gathered at Epson Girls Grammar School. Both the students and the parents enjoyed themselves, and we were glad that the event turned out to be a great success.

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We were also pleased that our new initiatives went well, such as having Sakura TV visit and receiving sponsorship from Meiji.

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Going forward, we hope that new schools will join us, and that new teachers will also get involved in the behind-the-scenes team.

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Here’s a voice from a student from Mount Roskill Grammar School:
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こんにちは、私はジェミです。
Hello! My name is Jaime, and I was fortunate enough to represent our school in the annual Inter-school Japanese Quiz Night.

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At around 5 p.m., we arrived at Epsom Girls Grammar, in Japanese costume, Happi coat and Yukata, and began setting up the room for the event. By the time everything was ready, the other 10 schools had arrived, and I vividly remember sitting with my friends, all quietly preparing for the night ahead.

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Trust me when I say — it was a blast! We had tons of fun debating the answers to the questions (which were divided into five interesting categories) cheering when we got them right and laughing when we got them wrong.

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There was even a fun intermission where we had the chance to stretch our legs and do a bit of exploring. By the time the second half rolled around, we were refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the quiz.

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At the end of the night, we left feeling proud, with Team 1 (my team 😊) scoring 4th out of 20 teams — pretty good if you ask me!
Huge thanks to my teammates — Martin, Neel, and Ben — for being such a great team to work with, and to our fellow competitors in Team 2 — Sarah, Sylvia, Naailah, and Alianza — for doing their best and keeping spirits high.

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Naailah, Catherine, and Maia led the quizzes, and Ms Kojima was the main MC for the night.

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Thank you to Mr. McAlpine for driving the van and to Ms. Kojima for organising the event.

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It was truly a fantastic experience, and to anyone thinking of participating in the future — I cannot recommend it enough.

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ありがとう!
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Link to the video:

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🐑Canterbury

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Canterbury was very blessed to have 18 participating teams in the trivia night this year. Students thoroughly enjoyed the range of questions and, most of all, the Japanese snacks that were provided. This year was the first year we had a participating primary school, which made it more of a regional event. We congratulate Rangiora High School on their hosting us and the winning team coming from them. We look forward to a great event next year.

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🍎Hawke's Bay

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We had another subarashii Japan Trivia evening in Hawkes Bay. Lots of laughter and learning about the culture. Great costumes too. It was lovely to see some parents come and watch too. Karamu HS came first.

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🌿Manawatū

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The Manawatū regional edition of the NZAJLT Trivia Contest was once again a fierce competition with a lot of energy and fun! This year saw 14 enthusiastic teams representing Awatapu College, Freyberg High School, Ōtaki College, Palmerston North Boys’ High School, and St Peter’s College battling it out for top honours.
After two nail-biting rounds, it was neck and neck: Awatapu College’s Year 10 team and Dark ReUnion from St Peter’s College both racked up an impressive 16 out of 20 points. But as the contest heated up, Awatapu College’s team edged ahead round by round, ultimately clinching victory with a score of 37/50 — just three points clear of the pack! Dark ReUnion and PNBHS’s Amaterasu Omikami shared second place with 34 points each. The award for Best Dressed went to the creative team from Ōtaki College.

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Hosted once again by IPU New Zealand, the event was a feast for the senses. The lively MCs embraced the spirit of the day, appearing as Princess Peach and Mitsuri Kanroji from Demon Slayer, while the crowd was treated to a powerful live performance by IPU’s very own Kodama Japanese drum team. It was a celebration of language, culture, and school spirit — and an unforgettable day for everyone involved!

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🏔Otago

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This year the Otago region welcomed some new schools to the competition and had a record number of teams participating, including an unofficial parents team.
The questions were fun and all of the teams enjoyed robust discussions while they decided on answers. As always, first place was tightly contested with only a one mark margin. Congratulations to Opihi College. We are looking forward to 2026.

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🐧Southland

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Once again the Southland students thoroughly enjoyed the Trivia Night and we are all very appreciative of the work put in by NZAJLT to make it happen. In addition to the main trophy, in Southland to encourage the junior students, we have a special trophy for our strongest Year 7/8 team.

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🌞Tasman

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We had a great night and very close competition at the Tasman Regional even held at Nelson College. Waimea Team 2 took out the trophy with 35 points. Everyone had a good time, a plenty of 美味しいお菓子. 🙂

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🐄Waikato

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On Friday, 13 June, Hillcrest High School proudly hosted the Waikato regional round of the Japanese Schools Trivia Championships.

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This year’s regional event welcomed five teams from Hillcrest High School, Rototuna Junior High School, and Mangakōtukutuku College. Adding to the lively atmosphere, several parents joined in on the fun, making it a truly community-spirited evening.

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While the Hillcrest teams placed last and second-to-last, spirits remained high, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the friendly competition. A special thank you goes to our seven senior student volunteers who helped with setup and quiz marking—their support was hugely appreciated and essential to the smooth running of the evening.
The Trivia Championships will return to Rototuna Junior High School next year, and we’re already looking forward to another fun-filled evening. We may not have topped the scoreboard this time, but we certainly brought the enthusiasm—and we’ll be back for more!

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🌬️Wellington

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This was another successful Trivia Night in Wellington!

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Seven schools participated, and all of them had a great time, enjoying the fun and friendly competition.

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During the interval, we had a "Jan Ken Snake" activity—a very popular tradition that we always include.

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There were quite a few impressive costumes worn by the students, adding to the festive atmosphere.

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This event is a fantastic opportunity for students studying Japanese in the region to come together, connect, and share their interests.

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We're already looking forward to competing again next year!

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A big thank you to the NZAJLT Trivia Night committee members for making this event possible.

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The photos and reports show that every venue was filled with laughter, excitement and team spirit. If your school has not taken part in the Trivia Quiz yet, we would love to see you next year!

A heartfelt thank you to all the regional organisers who kindly shared photos and write-ups.