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[Award Report] Cherishing the bond given by my grandfather. Akane Inagaki of the Japanese-Chinese couple Ken & Akane wins the Excellence Award at the 'Panda Cup All-Japan Youth Essay Contest 2025'

日中夫婦 健&茜

On November 1, 2025, Akane Inagaki, who runs the YouTube channel 'Japanese-Chinese Couple Ken & Akane,' received the Excellence Award at the 'Panda Cup All-Japan Youth Essay Contest 2025' held in Beijing, China.
The title of the winning entry is 'A Letter Dedicated to My Grandfather on His Seventh Memorial Service.'
It is a piece that chronicles the 'connection with Japan and China' that began with my grandfather's travel journal of China.



Report of the award and words of gratitude

To everyone who always supports 'Japanese-Chinese Couple Ken & Akane'.
I have received the Excellence Award at the 'Panda Cup All-Japan Youth Essay Contest 2025'.
The notebook left behind by my grandfather changed my life.
Guided by that notebook, I met my current husband and the country of China.
As I wrote in the essay, my deep involvement with China began with a travel journal left behind by my grandfather.
Attracted to the China my grandfather loved and touched by the warmth of the people I met there,
I eventually met my Chinese husband.
I believe that being able to work as 'Japanese-Chinese Couple Ken & Akane' now is a continuation of the 'story of connection' that my grandfather left behind.

From the winning entry 'A Letter Dedicated to My Grandfather on His Seventh Memorial Service'

Grandpa. On this day, your seventh memorial service, I am writing you a letter.
You were unconventional and a free spirit. You loved China and were obsessed with Chinese medicine and the Chinese language.
When I opened the China travel journal I found after you passed away, my heart was stirred.
As if guided by that notebook, I set off on a journey to China,
and there I had an encounter that changed my life.
The work is an essay in letter format that depicts the bonds with family built in a foreign land while inheriting my grandfather's wishes.
With the theme of 'human warmth that transcends cultural differences,' it received high praise from many judges.

About the 'Panda Cup All-Japan Youth Essay Contest'

This contest invites essays from young people in Japan on the theme of understanding and exchange with China.
Aiming for mutual understanding between Japan and China, 2025 marked its 12th year.

As a supplementary prize, I received a 3-year subscription to the 'People's Daily',
and I plan to participate in the award ceremony and study tour to be held in China next November.
I am very honored to be able to visit the land of China that my grandfather traveled to, once again on my own feet.


About 'Japanese-Chinese Couple Ken & Akane'

On the YouTube channel 'Japanese-Chinese Couple Ken & Akane',
husband Ken, from Anhui Province, China, and Japanese wife Akane share their daily life of international marriage and cultural differences.
'We want to convey the real China without being caught up in misunderstandings or prejudices.'
With that thought in mind, the two of them deliver the 'real figure of China' they felt when they met through videos.
🎥 Click here for the YouTube channel



Looking ahead

Encouraged by this award, I will continue to
connect the hearts of Japan and China through 'words' and 'images'.
To my grandfather watching over me from heaven, and to my husband and family who support me.
And to everyone who always supports me warmly.
Thank you so much.
I would be happy if you could continue to watch over 'Japanese-Chinese Couple Ken & Akane' warmly.
With heartfelt gratitude.
— Japanese-Chinese Couple Ken & Akane, Akane Inagaki

Afterword: A life guided by my grandfather's notebook


The people I met in China, my family, the culture, and my husband.
I believe all of these were connected by the 'threads of fate' my grandfather left behind.
I will continue to cherish the excitement I felt when I opened that notebook on that day.
I want to carefully weave each and every encounter.
🌸
Thank you to everyone who read this.
If you would like, I would be happy if you could support me with a 'Like' or a follow.


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