January 27, 2024, 09:53 AM
Ukrainian-born Karolina Shiino, 26, was crowned Miss Japan on Jan. 22, and it has caused a stir.
Shiino is the first naturalised Japanese citizen to win the competition.
People have since taken to social media to ask what it says about Japanese beauty standards.
Lived in Japan for more than 20 years
Shiino and her family moved to Japan from Ukraine when she was five years old.
Her parents are Ukrainian.
Shiino grew up in Nagoya after her mother was remarried to a Japanese man.
Photo from Shiino's Instagram page.
Photo from missnippon.jp
In her tearful acceptance speech, she acknowledged her Ukrainian background and her identity struggle, Reuters reported.
She said:
"I live as a Japanese person, but there have been racial barriers and many instances where I wasn't accepted.
I'm just filled with so much gratitude that I have really been accepted as a Japanese person today."
Shiino is now a naturalised Japanese citizen. Photo from Shiino's Instagram.
Earlier, in September 2023, Shiino shared a post on her Instagram page announcing she was "officially Japanese".
In the post, she wrote:
"I may not look Japanese, but as I grew up in Japan, I became Japanese at heart, and I wanted to be recognised as Japanese in a real sense."
Sparked online debate
Shiino's crowning has been the subject of much debate, with many asking what it says about beauty standards in Japan.
Japanese people have aired their concerns on X, formerly Twitter:
One user wrote: "So, someone who doesn't have a drop of Japanese blood and has no trace of Japanese-ness is going to represent Japanese women?"
Another questioned: "This person who was chosen as Miss Japan is not even a mix with Japanese but 100% pure Ukrainian. Understand she is beautiful, but this is 'Miss Japan'. Where is the Japaneseness?"
Organiser of the pageant, Ai Wada, told the BBC the judges had "full confidence" in their decision, saying: "She speaks and writes in beautiful and polite Japanese. She is more Japanese than we are."
This isn't the first time Miss Japan's winner has sparked outrage.
Miss Japan's first bi-racial winner. Photo from Ariana Miyamoto's Instagram page.
In 2015, winner Ariana Miyamoto made news because of her racial profile. She is half-Japanese and half-African-American.
The Miss Japan Grand Prix has been running since 1952 and is the oldest beauty pageant in Japan.
Top photo from Miss Nippon Association
