A Ukrainian born Miss Japan was crowned on Monday, sparking a debate on social media about Japan’s identity.
The Japanese public reacted with shock and questioned the Japaneseness of the newly crowned Miss Japan.
Ukrainian Born Miss Japan
The 26-year-old model Carolina Shiino was born in Ukraine but has lived in Japan since she was just five years old.
The public reacted with mixed emotions and has sparked an online debate over the erosion of Japanese cultural identity.
Ms. Shiino’s win comes ten years after Ariana Miyamoto, an African Japanese model, who won Miss Japan in 2015.
People’s Reaction
Most of the public on social media questioned why Shiino was crowned ‘Miss Japan’ when there was nothing Japanese about her.
Some claimed that the decision was politically motivated as she wouldn’t have won if she was Russian, not Ukrainian.
The organizer of the Miss Japan Grand Prix pageant, Ai Wada, said they were confident about their decision and the model was “more Japanese than we are.”
