PDF version of the news release is avialable from here.

Toastmasters International will soon establish its first Toastmasters club, named Kofu Toastmasters Club (Kofu TMC), in the Yamanashi Prefecture. Its first demo meeting will be held on Saturday, 13th October, and similar club activities will be continued in the future.
Before starting the activity, Yoshihiro Kawano, the founder of Kofu TMC, gave the following speech:
“With the globalization of the Japanese economy, we are expanding opportunities to use leadership skills in English and communication skills in English with people all over the world.”
With regard to this, Toastmasters’ activity in Japan (76th District) has been very active over the past ten years, thus increasing its number of clubs.
People in the Yamanashi Prefecture have always enjoyed cultivating global talents who can converse in English, as they have a large number of opportunities available to them that require communicating in English.

Yamanashi Prefecture:
* The basic policies underlying Yamanashi Prefecture’s education promotion plan are “developing an ability that can be used in all societies across the globe”, “creating an environment that can sustain continuous lifelong learning”, and “proactively promoting the development of global human resources”.
* Tourists from all over the world visit the Yamanashi Prefecture, as there are many sightseeing spots here. In particular, Mt. Fuji has become increasingly popular since it was registered as a World Heritage Site in 2013. To guide these tourists, there are many people here who engage in communicating with them in English. Moreover, many major companies have their manufacturing and development bases in Yamanashi Prefecture, and these companies are frequently required to communicate in English to promote their business. Thus, the staff in these companies are required to improve their English communication skills.
* Recently, an increasing number of people has been migrating from overseas to Yamanashi Prefecture for the purpose of business or study. For this reason, it is extremely important to know how to use English in daily communications.
As there were no Toastmasters clubs in the Yamanashi Prefecture, the residents had to join clubs in neighboring prefectures, such as Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Nagano.

But now, to solve this problem, Toastmasters International volunteers have decided to establish a Toastmasters club in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture. We will proceed with the establishment of Kofu TMC, and we will participate in learning leadership and communication skills together with the residents of the Yamanashi Prefecture. Moreover, we hope to contribute to the “creation of human resources who will build the future of Yamanashi” along with the residents of this prefecture.

First Demo Meeting
Saturday, 13th October
12:30–14:30
Hotel Crown Palais Kofu
For the first demo meeting, the time and place will be different from those for the regular meetings.
For those who wish to participate, please contact us through the “Participant Contact” information given below and apply. We welcome your participation.

Kofu Toastmasters Club’s Regular Meeting Information
The second and subsequent regular meetings will be held on the next schedule.
Meeting day: Second Saturday of every month, 13:30–15:30
Main venue: Yamanashi Prefectural Library Exchange Area
(A three-minute walk from JR Kofu Station, north exit)

To visit its homepage, log on to https://inspireyoshi.wixsite.com/kofu-toastmasters
To visit its Facebook page, log on to https://www.facebook.com/ToastmastersKofu
The meeting will be conducted in English.

To know more about Toastmasters International, log on to https://www.toastmasters.org/
From a humble beginning in 1924 at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, Toastmasters International has grown to become a world leader in helping people become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience. Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. Members can improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of its 16,600 clubs located across 140 countries that make up our global network of meeting locations. As of August 2018, there are more than 357,000 members worldwide and 193 clubs and more than 4,000 members in Japan.
To know more about District 76 (Japan section), log on to http://district76.org/
Toastmasters’ global motto is “Toastmasters: Where Leaders Are Made.”
Each club will continue to contribute to improving the communication and leadership abilities of the nation it’s located in.

Participant contact:
Kofu Toastmasters
kofu-tmc-guest@googlegroups.com

Media contact:
District 76, Toastmasters International
PR Manager Ami Aoyama
toastmasters@district76.org
http://district76.org/