Carolina Shiino: Ethnicity explored as Miss Japan 2024 comes under scrutiny

Born in Ukraine, a Japanese woman, Carolina Shiino, has stirred up controversy following her victory in the Miss Japan contest, on Monday, January 22. Shiino, 26, of Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, became the first naturalized Japanese citizen to win the pageant in Tokyo.

However, concerns over her ethnicity have prompted backlash and scrutiny since she was named the winner of the Miss Japan pageant. Netizens took to X to criticize the result and the competition itself.

The 26-year-old model was born in Ukraine and has been a naturalized citizen of Japan for more than 20 years. Japan, which has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, has gradually opened up to more foreigners over the years to reverse the country's downward trend.

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Carolina Shiino’s win sparked backlash among the netizens as the Ukrainian-born wins the title of Miss Japan

After winning Miss Japan, Carolina Shiino, a woman of Ukrainian descent, stirred up controversy online. After her mother re-married a Japanese guy, Shiino relocated to Japan in 2003 when she was five years old, according to Tokyo Weekender.

Shiino just won the Miss Japan pageant, but her victory hasn't exactly made people thrilled. In the videos that went public, Carolina was seen crying a little when she accepted her victory and was crowned, reflecting on all the difficulties she had to overcome to be accepted as a Japanese woman.

Sources such as the Independent claim that on Monday, January 22, during her acceptance speech, Shiino spoke fluently in Japanese from the Miss Japan Grand Prix platform. During her speech, she said,

"I live as a Japanese person, but there have been racial barriers and many instances where I wasn't accepted."

She further said,

“I’ve had to face barriers that often prevent me from being accepted as Japanese, so I am filled with gratitude to be recognised at this competition as a Japanese person."

She went on to say that her goal is to establish a society in which "people are not judged by their appearance" and that she is Japanese, both verbally and mentally.

Shiino also hoped that people would see past her appearance. She stated on the page of the beauty contest that despite her foreign appearance, she is Japanese at heart.

Although some may find Shiino's triumph "inappropriate," the pageant's organizer, Ai Wada, defended the win, according to the same source. Following the revelation of her identity, she commented,

"It gave us a chance to reevaluate what Japanese beauty is."

Additionally, she has reportedly told BBC that the judges selected Shiino as the winner with "full confidence”.

“She speaks and writes in beautiful Japanese, she is more Japanese than we are.”

However, that didn't stop people from casting doubt on her victory on social media platforms. Netizens took to X to express their opinion regarding the same:

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Miss Japan has stirred controversy in the nation before. Born to a Japanese mother and a black American father, Ariana Miyamoto made history in 2015 by becoming the first mixed-race Miss Japan.

Furthermore, Priyanka Yoshikawa, an Indo-Japanese, won the title of Miss World Japan in 2016. Then also people expressed dissatisfaction over her win, claiming that a "pure Japanese" should have won.