Critics are questioning whether the new Miss Japan is Japanese enough after a Ukrainian-born model took the crown.
Carolina Shiino, 26, took the country title Monday night in Tokyo, but not without controversy. Shiino was born to two Ukrainian parents in her home country and she moved to Japan at the age of five when her mother remarried, according to The Telegraph.
The young model obtained citizenship in the Asian country a year ago, but critics do not believe it is enough.
“This person who was elected Miss Japan is not even a mix of Japanese but 100% pure Ukrainian.” a reviewer wrote in. “I understand that she is beautiful, but this is ‘Miss Japan.’ Where is the Japanese?
Carolina Shiino, 26, took home the title of Miss Japan on Monday in Tokyo, but not without controversy. @karolina0824 / Instagram Shiino was born to two Ukrainian parents in her home country and she moved to Japan at the age of five when her mother remarried a Japanese man. Maidigitv / Youtube
Another said: “How can a white European represent Japan as Miss Japan? This is a disaster!
Many social media users also accused the judges of feeling sorry for her because she is from a war-torn country and it was a political decision to crown her the winner.
“If I had been born Russian, I wouldn’t have won. No way. Obviously, the criterion is now a political decision. What a sad day for Japan.” one said.
However, Shiino is shaking off the criticism and calling her victory a “dream.”
“This person who was elected Miss Japan is not even a mix of Japanese, but 100% pure Ukrainian,” wrote one critic on X. @karolina0824 / Instagram. However, Shiino calls her victory a “dream.” @karolina0824 / Instagram
“I have often had to face barriers that prevent me from being accepted as Japanese, so I am very grateful to be recognized as Japanese in this competition,” she said.
Shiino also said that she felt Japanese in “speech and mind.”
The controversy surrounding her Asian heritage is nothing new for her, as she recalled comments about her appearance as a child, The Telegraph reported.
Her mother, Lana, who is also a model, also won Miss Best Body in a Japanese competition.
The controversy surrounding her Asian heritage is nothing new for her, as she recalled comments about her appearance as a child, The Telegraph reported. @karolina0824 / Instagram The judges also backed her first choice, saying she was “more Japanese than us.” @karolina0824 / Instagram
The judges also backed their first choice, saying she was “more Japanese than us.”
“She speaks and writes in beautiful, polite Japanese,” event organizer Ai Wada told the BBC.
The organizers also said they were attracted to Shiino’s “confidence” throughout the contest.
Shiino is not the only non-Japanese-looking winner who won Miss Japan.
In 2015, Ariana Miyamoto won the pageant. Miyamoto was born to a Japanese mother and African-American father, and was the first mixed-race woman to win the pageant.
She also placed in the top 10 in the Miss Universe pageant.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn