UNSW has had a clear win in a prestigious Japanese language competition.

The University won every prize in two divisions and came first in the third division at the 40th Japanese Language Speech Contest.

All nine UNSW students who participated in the event won a prize.

"UNSW does very well in the speech contest every year, but this massive victory is unprecedented," said Chihiro Thomson, Associate Professor of Japanese Studies in the School of Languages and Linguistics.

"As this is the 40th anniversary of the event, a lot of staff members put in extra effort in coaching the students. The students were really excited by the conference we held at UNSW, so it was easy to keep the momentum going.

"It appears that the Rudd Government's effort in Asian language is finally becoming visible. I hope that these kind of events will continue to inspire students.

The NSW Final was hosted by the Japan Foundation and was presided over by the Japanese Consul General in Sydney, Mr Nobuhito Hobo.

Katherine Lam won the Open Beginner Division with her presentation "Learning about Islamic Traditions and Culture", while Joshua Leong took first place in the Open Division for his speech "On the other side of the wall".

Makito Endo won the Background Speaker Division with "Place of Belonging".

Katherine, Joshua and Makito will be representing NSW at the National Final in October.