“Absolutely Japanese”: the unexpected victory of a Ukrainian model at the Miss Japan competition caused a scandal

The face of Japanese beauty is now recognized as a model… of Ukrainian origin – at least according to the judges of the competition, who sparked a debate about cultural identity by naming 26-year-old Caroline Shiino “Miss Japan”.

The annual Miss Nippon pageant, whose name comes from the Japanese name for the country, awards the tiara to the contestant representing “the most beautiful of all Japanese women,” according to organizers’ website. The decision to choose a winner with a European background raised questions about beauty standards and what it means to be Japanese. notes CNN.

“I wanted to be recognized as Japanese,” says Caroline Shiino, a naturalized citizen of the Land of the Rising Sun who has lived in Nagoya since she was 5 and speaks fluent Japanese.

Shiino said she faced difficulty being accepted as a local because of her appearance, and hoped her victory would change opinions about who could be considered Japanese.

“In the end, we live in an era of diversity – where diversity is necessary,” said the Ukrainian. “There are a lot of people like me who worry about the discrepancy between their appearance and (who they are).” She added: “I was constantly told that I was not Japanese, but I am completely Japanese, so I entered the Miss Nippon pageant truly believing in myself. I was really happy to be recognized like that.”

Japan is an ethnically homogeneous country with relatively low levels of immigration, which in recent years has prompted authorities to push for more foreign residents and workers to fill gaps left by an aging population, CNN notes. The country has struggled to balance its conservative views on immigration with the need for new and younger workers, although a 2018 Pew poll found that 59% of Japanese believe immigrants will make the country stronger.

“Carolina is Japanese, so there’s nothing wrong with (her victory),” one commenter wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, comparing her to various foreign-born athletes who have represented Japan in international sports competitions . “They are Japanese, and so is Caroline.”

Others praised her for her love of her homeland. “Many Japanese people don’t value Japan, so why is there a problem that she valued Japan so much, where she lived since childhood, that she became a naturalized Japanese citizen, accepted the challenge of becoming Miss Nippon, and was crowned Miss Nippon?” asked one user X.

But others questioned whether someone without Japanese heritage could represent the country’s beauty ideals.

“Racial discrimination is absolutely unacceptable,” historian Hiroe Yamashita wrote on X, “but if the Miss Japan pageant is based on the concept of beauty, I personally would like it to be based on the standards of Japanese beauty. With Caroline Shiino’s looks, an (ethnic) Japanese girl has no chance of winning according to modern beauty values.”

Shiino’s victory comes nearly 10 years after Ariana Miyamoto became the first biracial woman to win the Miss Universe Japan title, one of several other national pageants. Miyamoto went on to represent Japan at Miss Universe 2015.

Miss Nippon is not part of an international beauty pageant and is not affiliated with global pageants such as Miss World and Miss Universe.

The first Miss Japan pageant, held in 1950, was sponsored by one of Japan’s largest newspapers, the Yomiuri Shimbun. It was originally established to select a goodwill ambassador to the United States who would express gratitude to Japan for American humanitarian assistance after World War II.

The first competition was won by Fujiko Yamamoto, who later became a successful actress. According to the official website of the Miss Nippon pageant, her “dignified elegance” became the new standard of beauty for Japanese women for many years.

After a 15-year hiatus, the competition was revived in 1967 by Shizuo Wada, later a famous television health and beauty exercise instructor.

The pageant is now run by his granddaughter Ai Wada, who told CNN that Shiino was awarded the title of Miss Nippon because she is “a hard-working but humble Japanese woman with a very strong sense of respect for others.”