County supervisors honor Cupertino Japan Bowl champs

Among three local high schools to place in national competition.

Students from Cupertino High School were recognized June 3 by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors for their prowess in the Japanese language.

Cupertino High’s team earned one first-place ranking and two second places in the 32nd annual National Japan Bowl, held April 18-19 in Washington, DC. Each spring the Japan-America Society of Washington, DC welcomes 200 of the country’s top high school Japanese-language students to the nation’s capital for the competition.

This year’s competition marked the first time that three schools from the same county have ever swept the top three spots at one level. San Jose’s Lynbrook High School came out on top in the competition for students enrolled in second-year high school-level Japanese language class, followed by Palo Alto’s Gunn High School in second place and Cupertino High School in third.

The three local teams also made good showings in the level 3 competition for students enrolled in third-year Japanese language study and Level 4 for students enrolled in fourth- or fifth-year Japanese classes or in AP Japanese. Cupertino High was first at level 3, followed by Lynbrook in second and Gunn in fourth. Lynbrook led the pack at level 4, with Cupertino High second and Gunn in fourth.

In the 2023 Japan Bowl, Cupertino placed first in the level 3 and 4 competitions and third in level 2. For more information, visit https://japanbowl.org/32nd-national-japan-bowl.