Updated 01/24/24 at 6:34 p.m
E.P
The new Miss Japan is Carolina Shiino. The 26-year-old model, who was born in Ukraine and came to Japan at the age of five, is the first naturalized Japanese citizen to win the competition, the BBC writes in its article about the election. “There were racial barriers and it was difficult to be accepted as Japanese,” Carolina Shiino reacted after her coronation. Being recognized as a Japanese woman in this competition fills me with gratitude.”
Mixed reactions on social networks
His election sparked mixed reactions. While some welcome her election as a sign of a changing mentality, others continue to believe that she doesn't look like Miss Japan. Some netizens reacted on social networks to the fact that the winner does not have Japanese parents.
In 2015, the coronation of Ariana Miyamoto, the first woman of mixed race (a Japanese mother and an African-American father) to be crowned Miss Japan 2015, also sparked outrage on the Japanese island.
Ai Wada, the organizer of the Miss Japan Grand Prix, told the BBC that the jury chose Carolina Shiino as the winner with “full confidence.” He praised her perfect command of the Japanese language and even went so far as to say that the young woman “is more Japanese than us.” »