Arab News Japan

Carolina Shiino, a 26-year-old model born in Ukraine, was crowned the 56^th Miss Japan winner on Monday in Tokyo.

Along with her win came a barrage of criticism regarding the fact that she has no Japanese descent, despite being raised in Nagoya.

Shiino moved to Japan at 5-years-old, when her mother remarried a Japanese man. She was born in Ternopil to Ukrainian parents in 1998.

The model is the first-ever naturalized Japanese citizen to win the pageant as well as the oldest ever.

Shiino received her Japanese nationality in 2022, and as she accepted her trophy as Miss Japan 2024, she said winning the title was “a dream.”

In her acceptance speech, the model said: “The moment they called my name, I couldn’t stop crying. I’ve had to face barriers that often prevent me from being accepted as Japanese, so I am filled with gratitude to be recognized at this competition as a Japanese person.”

Many people took to social media to express their opinions on the matter.

“This person is not even half Japanese, both of her parents are Ukrainian, and she was born in Ukraine (Now naturalized). Does this mean ‘Miss Japan’?” one user wrote on X.

#ミス日本　が話題になっている。

この人は日本人とのハーフですらなく、両親共にウクライナ人🇺🇦で、ウクライナ生まれとか🙄
（今は帰化済み）

これって『ミス日本』の意味あるのかな？

差別と区別は分けて欲しい。
日本は🇺🇸みたいな国柄じゃないのだから。。 pic.twitter.com/8xWirROgs8

— アメリカから見た日本 (@yamatogokorous) January 23, 2024

“I admit that she is beautiful, but her DNA is different. She is not the Miss Japan that the world is looking for,” another person added.

いやいや美しいのは認めるがDNA的に違うでしょ。世界が求めているミス日本は彼女じゃ無いよ。きっとこの主催者は左巻きなんだろうねぇ。 https://t.co/SO03C3kfRP

— tatsuro (@tatsuro2009) January 23, 2024

Some even said her win sends the wrong message to the people of Japan, considering a European person is being crowned the “most beautiful in Japan.”

While many seemed opposed to the idea of a naturalized Japanese person winning the beauty pageant, there were some who were accepting.

“There are many Japanese people who don’t value Japan, so what’s wrong with the fact that she cherished the country she lived in since childhood, naturalized, took on the challenge as a Japanese, and won Miss Japan?” a user said on X.

ミス日本に選ばれた椎野カロリーナさん、

「日本人として人生を終えたい」
「最終的なゴールは日本でお墓を作る事」

日本人ですら日本を大事にできない人が多いのに、小さい頃から住む日本をここまで大事に思い帰化して日本人としてチャレンジしミス日本を手にした事になんの問題があるのか。 pic.twitter.com/bSvUrni7Op

— 筋トレ100%マン (@BCAA20000) January 23, 2024

This is not the first time controversy surrounded a Japanese beauty pageant. In 2015, Ariana Miyamoto became the first ever mixed-race winner of Miss Universe Japan.

While she received many messages of support, others made it clear that they did not think she looked “Japanese enough.”