The Miss Japan beauty pageant had a surprise winner this week, and not everyone in the country is happy about the choice made by the judges.
Carolina Shiino, 26, walked away with the pageant’s top prize on Monday night in Tokyo, telling reporters afterwards in impeccable Japanese: ‘It was like a dream.’
But her win at the award’s 56th iteration has sparked fierce debate in Japan over what it means to be Japanese… on account of her being born in Ukraine.
Born in 1998, she moved to Japan at the age of five – where she was raised in Nagoya – after her Ukrainian mother remarried to a Japanese man.
Her win means she is the first naturalised Japanese citizen to take home the Miss Japan gong, a fact that has divided commentators in the country.
The Miss Japan beauty pageant had a surprise winner this week: Carolina Shiino (pictured)
Carolina Shiino, 26, walked away with the pageant’s top prize on Monday night in Tokyo, telling reporters afterwards in impeccable Japanese: ‘It was like a dream’
Pictured: The moment Ms Shiino was announced as the winner of the Miss Japan pageant
Some people have acknowledged her win as being a ‘sign of the times,’ while others have said she does not look like what a typical ‘Miss Japan’ should.
Her win comes after a similar debate was sparked in 2015 when Ariana Miyamoto became the first bi-racial woman to be crowned Miss Japan.
With a Japanese mother and African American father, Ms Miyamoto’s victory also sparked a debate over whether a person of mixed race should be eligible.
Now, with the award being given to someone with no Japanese parentage, people are once again up in arms over the outcome of the pageant.
Taking to social media, one person write on X (formerly Twitter) that the competition was ‘discriminating against Japanese faces’.
Another said in a post: ‘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?’ according to the BBC.
But Ms Shiino’s win at the award’s 56th iteration has sparked fierce debate in Japan over what it means to be Japanese… on account of her being born in Ukraine
Born in Ukraine in 1998, Ms Shiino moved to Japan at the age of five – where she was raised in Nagoya – after her Ukrainian mother remarried to a Japanese man
Some people have acknowledged Ms Shiino’s win as being a ‘sign of the times,’ while others have said she does not look like what a typical ‘Miss Japan’ should
Ms Shiino was born to Ukrainian parents but moved to Japan in the early 2000s when she was just five after her mother re-married a Japanese man
Speaking after her win, she said she has ‘struggled being accepted as Japanese’
‘If she was half [Japanese], sure no problem. But she’s ethnically 0% Japanese and wasn’t even born in Japan,’ another comment said.
Others argued ‘when a European looking person is called the most beautiful Japanese’, it sends the ‘wrong message’ to Japanese people.
Some even went as far to suggest the victory was a political statement.
One person alleged: ‘If she were born Russian, she wouldn’t have won. Not a chance. Obviously the criteria is now a political decision. What a sad day for Japan.’
Speaking to reporters after being announced the winner of the competition, Ms Shiino said has faced difficulties ‘being accepted as Japanese.’
‘The moment they called my name, I couldn’t stop crying,’ she said in Japanese.
‘I’ve had to face barriers that often prevent me from being accepted as Japanese, so I am filled with gratitude to be recognised at this competition as a Japanese person.’
Speaking to reporters after being announced the winner of the competition, Ms Shiino (pictured) said has faced difficulties ‘being accepted as Japanese’
On her motivation to enter the contest, she said: ‘I have lived in Japan since I was five and realized I was speaking Japanese and living as a Japanese
Standing at 172cm (5ft 6in), Ms Shiino was one of the taller contestants, and at 26 years old, was also the oldest. Her motto is: ‘A high mountain is not noble because of its height’
She added: ‘My goal became to create a society where people are not judged by their appearance, leading me to enter the contest.’
On her motivation to enter the contest, she said: ‘I have lived in Japan since I was five and realized I was speaking Japanese and living as a Japanese.
‘But it was the first time I noticed my appearance was different due to comments from those around me.’
As her name was announced, she immediately acknowledged her mother, who brought her to Japan two decades ago.
Asked who she wanted to share her joy with, she said: ‘My family, especially my mother. I want to tell her first, “Mom, I won the Grand Prix!”‘
Standing at 172cm (5ft 6in), Ms Shiino was one of the taller contestants, and at 26 years old, was also the oldest.
Her motto is: ‘A high mountain is not noble because of its height.’
Ai Wada, the organiser of the Miss Japan Gran Prix pageant, said the event ”gave us an opportunity to rethink what Japanese beauty is’.
‘Following today’s result, there is one thing I am convinced of… Japanese beauty exists not in the appearance, not in the blood, but it exists firmly in our heart.’
The furore over Ms Shiino’s win on Monday comes after a similar row broke out over the winner of Miss France at the end of last year.
Ms Shiino’s win comes after a similar debate was sparked in 2015 when Ariana Miyamoto (pictured) became the first bi-racial woman to be crowned Miss Japan
With a Japanese mother and African American father, Ms Miyamoto’s victory also sparked a debate over whether a person of mixed race should be eligible
Short-haired 20-year-old Eve Gilles found herself at the centre of a woke row about her pixie hair following her Miss France victory in December
Short-haired 20-year-old Eve Gilles found herself at the centre of a woke row about her pixie hair following her victory in December.
Critics said the kind of long hair favoured by previous winners – and Gallic female icons such as Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve – would have been far more appropriate than a short pixie bob worn by Ms Gilles.
But Eve hit back, saying: ‘We’re used to seeing beautiful Misses with long hair, but I chose an androgynous look with short hair.’ She said it was a win for woke ‘diversity’, and that ‘no one should dictate who you are’.
As the debate about acceptable feminine looks raged, Eve said she was used to being ‘body shamed’, and even faced exclusion from Miss France for being too small.