Japanese students from the Kanazawa Institute of Technology took 51 seconds to beat their hosts Vietnam 1 in the final to win the Asia-Pacific Robot Contest (ABU Robocon) in the central city of Da Nang on August 18.

It is the second time that Japan has won the Championship since the contest debuted in Tokyo in 2002.

Vietnam 2 and Indonesia drew for third place.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan attended the event and presented the award to the champions.

“The ABU contest gathers young and creative talents, giving momentum to the development of science and technology in Vietnam against the backdrop of Asia Pacific becoming the most dynamic region in the world,” the Deputy PM said.

Vietnam Television (VTV) General Director Tran Binh Minh said the regional robot contest helped raise innovation among young students at colleges and universities.

He said the theme of this year’s contest, the Green Planet, aimed to raise awareness of environmental protection.

The ABU Robocon this year (the 11th of its kind) marked the second time that Vietnam has hosted the technology innovation competition, which features students predominantly from the Asia-Pacific region.

Vietnam won the championship three times.

The competition, which is sponsored by Japanese giant car maker Toyota, saw the participation of teams from Hong Kong, Mongolia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Fiji, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Egypt, and Russia.-VNA