A woman born to Ukrainian parents sparked controversy after being crowned Miss Japan.
Carolina Shino, 26, from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, became the first naturalized Japanese citizen to win the competition, which was held in Tokyo on Monday.
Miss Shino moved to the country when she was just five years old after her mother married a Japanese man, the Tokyo Weekender reported.
“I have had to face barriers that often prevent me from being accepted as Japanese, so I am grateful to be recognized in this pageant as a Japanese person,” she said in her acceptance speech for Miss Japan. Japan Grand Prize Pageant.
Carolina Shino moved to Japan when she was five years old and is a naturalized citizen.
Miss Shino described herself as Japanese “in speech and mind” and wanted to create a society in which “people are not judged by their appearance.”
However, people online are still wondering about her winning the crown, and some are wondering how someone who is not of Japanese descent could become “Miss Japan.”
“Many Japanese people, including people I know, are not happy with the selection of Miss Japan,” one user on X said.
“If people continue to value Japanese identity based on roots, and consider only those with pure Japanese blood as their own, instead of embracing multiculturalism, Japan will run out of Japanese people.”
“As a non-Japanese person living in Japan, I also think that casting someone who has no ethnic connection to Japan is ridiculous,” another said.
Many questioned whether the decision was related to the war in Ukraine, and raised questions about whether a Western appearance was “preferred” over an Asian appearance.
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One person said: “If she had been born Russian, she wouldn't have won. Not a chance. Clearly the criteria has now become a political decision. What a sad day for Japan.”
Another person said: “I think Japanese people will naturally get the wrong message when they call someone with European appearance the most beautiful Japanese.”
Contest organizer Ai Wada said Miss Shino's win “gives us an opportunity to rethink what Japanese beauty is.”
She added: “After today's result, there is one thing I am convinced of… Japanese beauty is neither found in appearance nor in blood, but exists strongly in our hearts.”
Ariana Miyamoto's win of Miss Japan 2015 also sparked controversy
This is not the first time that the Miss Japan winner has sparked controversy in the country.
In 2015, Ariana Miyamoto, born to a black American father and a Japanese mother, became the first woman of mixed ethnicity to be crowned Miss Japan.
Her victory also sparked controversy within the country.
