Jakarta –
A Ukrainian-born model wins Miss Japan. The situation sparked a heated debate about race.
Citing BBC, Friday (26/1/2024), there are racial barriers and it is difficult to be accepted as Japanese in this phenomenon. That’s what Carolina Shiino said in perfect Japanese with tears in her eyes after being crowned Miss Japan on Monday (22/1).
The 26-year-old model, who was born in Ukraine and has no Japanese ancestry, moved to Japan at the age of five. He grew up in Nagoya. His stature, skin and face are very Caucasian.
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Carolina is a naturalized citizen. The victory became history for beauty pageants in Japan. He was the first naturalized citizen to win the contest.
In the process, Carolina’s victory reaps the pros and cons of what it means to be Japanese. On the one hand, her victory was recognized as a sign of changing times, while others considered that she did not look like the “Miss Japan” she should be.
A similar but not the same situation occurred, namely almost 10 years ago. Ariana Miyamoto became the first mixed-race woman to be crowned Miss Japan 2015.
Miyamoto was born to a Japanese mother and an African-American father. That alone made Miyamoto’s victory a sensation. At that time the question arose about whether someone who was half-race was eligible to win the contest.
Now, the fact that Carolina is not of Japanese descent and was not born in Japan has some people upset on social media.
“The person who was chosen as Miss Japan is not even mixed Japanese, but 100% pure Ukrainian. I understand she is beautiful, but this is ‘Miss Japan’. Where is the Japaneseness in her?” said a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“If he was half Japanese of course it wouldn’t be a problem. But he is ethnically 0% Japanese and wasn’t even born in Japan,” said another comment.
Others said his win sent the wrong message to the rest of the country.
“I think Japanese people will naturally get the wrong message when someone who looks European is called the most beautiful Japanese person,” he said.
Others questioned whether choosing the Ukrainian-born model was a political decision.
“If he had been born Russian, he would not have won. No way. Obviously that criterion is now a political decision. What a sad day for Japan,” said one person.
Ai Wada, organizer of the Miss Japan Grand Prix pageant, told the BBC that the judges had chosen Carolina as the winner with great confidence.
“He spoke and wrote in beautiful and polite Japanese. He was more Japanese than us,” Wada said.
Carolina, via Instagram in early 2024, announced on Instagram she received Japanese citizenship. He said that he “may not look Japanese”, but his mind has “become Japanese” due to growing up in Japan.
And as she accepted her trophy as Miss Japan 2024, she said winning the title was “a dream”.
“Being recognized as Japanese in this competition makes me very grateful,” he said.
Watch the video “Exploring Muslim-Friendly Tourism in Japan”
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(msl/fem)
2024-01-26 00:05:25
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