News articles:

https://www.independent.co.uk/...-japan-b2484527.html
https://nextshark.com/ukrainian-miss-japan-2024

quote:

Carolina Shiino ... became the first naturalized Japanese citizen to win the Miss Japan Grand Prix pageant.
...
“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,” Shiino said on stage ...

Online skepticism: Despite declaring herself Japanese in “speech and mind,” her victory sparked skepticism on social media, with some questioning the choice of crowning someone who is not of Japanese descent.
...
Judges’ defense: However, event organizers justified the selection of Shiino, highlighting that the judges were impressed by her “confidence.” Ai Wada, the pageant organizer, also emphasized that “Japanese beauty exists not in the appearance, not in the blood, but it exists firmly in our heart,” urging viewers to contemplate on the essence of Japanese beauty.
“She speaks and writes in beautiful and polite Japanese,” Ai Wada added. “She is more Japanese than we are.”

I've been reading about this... and trying to decide whether to build a little research project out of it....

it's kind of hot-button....

The rest of the story:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/n...lina-shiino-resigns/

Ms. Shiino has relinquished her title following admission that she has knowingly continued an affair with a married man.

I just saw that!

But it still doesn’t answer the question: Should she have been crowned Miss Japan?

quote:

But it still doesn’t answer the question: Should she have been crowned Miss Japan?

No, you're right of course, it doesn't answer the question. And it's unfortunate because it distracts from the discussion.

What is the nature of this discussion? Is there any discussion involving why she was chosen?

I guess it would rest on how one defines "Japanese". I found the following on wiki (take it for what that is worth, but it's referenced to the Prime Minister's Office of Japan): "Article 10 of the Constitution of Japan defines the term "Japanese" based upon Japanese nationality (citizenship) alone, without regard for ethnicity."

That definition certainly includes Carolina Shiino.

Steve, what Bernard said. 1. what does it mean to be Japanese, and who gets to decide? And 2. what are the "Miss Japan" criteria and should the winner look like a Japanese woman (again, as defined by whom)?

One part of the second question is about what's deemed beautiful... some years ago, a Japanese woman won the Miss Universe title for that year, but she kind of got bashed in Japan because people said she didn't look Japanese (this was someone who was racially/ethnically Japanese). The argument was made that her selection was a rejection of traditional Japanese beauty and an endorsement of western/caucasian beauty standards.

So for this current issue, some people seem to saying some similar things, like why was she selected when there are so many beautiful women who "look Japanese"...

The counter(?) argument is that Japan has always been more diverse than people recognize, and it is becoming even more diverse, and so having this woman win sends the message that being Japanese doesn't have to be dependent upon how one looks.

There are probably more angles to the discussion, but these are the main ones I've seen.

I googled, the woman I was talking about above is Riyo Mori

ETA oops, you can't use pngs with the image tag. Here's Riyo Mori




Also, in 2015, Miss Universe Japan was Ariana Miyamoto (she didn't win Miss Universe). She is a Japanese citizen, was born and raised in Japan has a Japanese mother and African American father.

oops, you can't use pngs with the image tag. Here's Riyo Mori

If we get rid of beauty pageants, we won't have this problem anymore.

quote:

If we get rid of beauty pageants, we won't have this problem anymore.

Indeed.

At the same time, it does get people talking about it (it being identity, Japan-ness etc.) in Japan, which is very important.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
If we get rid of beauty pageants, we won't have this problem anymore.

What problems have beauty pageants ever solved?

Not a rhetorical question … for a practice to have lasted this long, it must have served some useful purpose to some population, right?

A history of beauty pageants:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/ameri...origins-and-culture/