According to The Japan Times, Shukan Bunshun, a monthly magazine, ran an article about Shiino’s relationship with married doctor Takuma Maeda. Initially, pageant organizers defended Shiino, saying she was uninformed of Maeda’s marital status. However, additional investigations found that she was aware of his marriage and was in a relationship with him, prompting her to express regret for deceiving them. Shiino took to Instagram to publicly apologize for her behaviour, admitting her mistakes and expressing regret for any pain caused. Check out her post.
Shiino’s success had already stirred controversy online, with her caught up in an identity argument. In her victory speech, the 26-year-old model stated, “There have been racial barriers, and it has been challenging to be accepted as Japanese,” adding that this win made her feel more connected to the Asian nation. Shiino, a Japanese citizen, has spent much of her life debating her nationality and identity, according to the BBC. The Japanese’s apathy toward people who appear different has bothered her since infancy, and it is more visible now than ever.
In 2015, Ariana Miyamoto, a bi-racial (Black and Asian) model, won Miss Japan
In 2015, Ariana Miyamoto, a bi-racial (Black and Asian) model, won Miss Japan. In 2016, Bengali-Japanese model Priyanka Yoshikawa won Miss World Japan. They, too, had received tremendously disparaging remarks and caused controversy with their victory. Carolina Shiino’s achievement comes over a decade later, but little appears to have changed since then. Furthermore, because she is not Japanese by blood, this sparked additional outrage. Shiino’s victory has sparked disappointment among netizens, who believe it sends “the wrong message.”
One X (previously Twitter) user commented, “I think that Japanese people naturally (would) get the wrong message when a European-looking person is called the most beautiful Japanese.” Another user added, “This gal who was picked as Miss Japan is 100% Ukrainian, not even a blend of Japanese. I understand she is attractive, but she is ‘Miss Japan’. “Where is the Japaneseness?” Some even attempted to discover a political motivation for Shiino’s victory. “If she had been born Russian, she would not have won. “Not a chance,” one X user stated. In a chat with the BBC, the Miss Nippon (Japan) Association denied these assertions. Ai Wada, the organizer of the Miss Japan Grand Prix pageant, stated that the judges chose Ms Shiino as the winner with “complete confidence.”
Wada said, “She speaks and writes in beautiful and polite Japanese. She is more Japanese than we are.” Shiino had announced her Japanese citizenship on Instagram earlier. “I may not look Japanese, but my mind has become Japanese because I grew up here. Being recognised as a Japanese in this competition fills me with gratitude,” she said in the caption.