The preliminary rounds for the national competition of the "19th Sweets Koshien" (organized by Sankei Shimbun, special sponsorship by Kaijirushi), a contest to determine Japan's top high school patissier, will begin on August 6 (Thu). Twenty-four teams, selected from submitted entries nationwide through document screening, will compete in two blocks, East and West, with 12 teams each. The theme for this year's competition is "Birthday Cake." Cooking tests will be conducted in each preliminary block, and after judging by chefs, six teams from each of the East and West blocks will advance to the national finals. A digest of the preliminary competition will be streamed later on the official Sweets Koshien YouTube channel. Please watch the earnest gazes and passion of the high school students as they pursue their dreams straight towards becoming Japan's No. 1 high school patissier. [Official Website] https://sweets-koushien.com/ [Official Channel] https://www.youtube.com/@sweets_koushien Teams Advancing to National Preliminary Rounds *School and Team Names Listed in Order of Prefecture Number ■ West Japan Block Date: August 6 (Thu) / Venue: Tokyo Belle Epoque Confectionery and Culinary School ・Fukuchiyama Shuto High School (Kyoto) Suzuran ・Lecole Vantan High School Osaka Campus (Osaka) Espoir ・Nara Women's High School (Nara) Trefle ・Ikusei Culinary Professional School Higher Course (Hyogo) Notre Scène ・Okayama Sanyo High School (Okayama) Lumiere ・Hiroshima Prefectural Technical High School (Hiroshima) Se wo Hayami ・Iizuka High School (Fukuoka) Zero ・Yamato Seiran High School (Fukuoka) Yumeiro Yamato ・Koyo High School (Nagasaki) Reliance ・Keisei High School (Kumamoto) Bonheur ・Kamimura Gakuen High School (Kagoshima) Ailes Bonheur ・Kamimura Gakuen High School (Kagoshima) étoile ■ East Japan Block Date: August 10 (Mon) / Venue: Tokyo Belle Epoque Confectionery and Culinary School ・Hokkaido Mikasa High School (Hokkaido) Les Étoiles ・Hokkaido Mikasa High School (Hokkaido) Te