Race row erupts after Ukrainian-born model wins Miss Japan title

A Ukrainian-born woman has sparked a national debate about "Japaneseness" and shifting demographics after being crowned Miss Japan.

Carolina Shiino, 26, was born to two Ukrainian parents and moved to Japan at the age of five when her mother remarried.

She sparked controversy by winning the top prize in the Miss Japan contest in Tokyo on Monday evening, despite having grown up in Nagoya and becoming a naturalised citizen after living in the country for more than 20 years.

"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," Ms Shiino said in her speech in Japanese from the stage of Miss Japan Grand Prix pageant.

She said she was Japanese from both "speech and mind" and aims to help create a society where "people are not judged by their appearance".

But her victory soon led to debates across the Asian country about national identity.

"Many Japanese people, including people I know, aren’t happy with the choice of Miss Japan. If people keep assessing Japaneseness based on roots and see only those with pure Japanese blood as their own, instead of embracing multiculturalism, Japan will run out of Japanese people," wrote Magdalena Osumi on X, formerly Twitter.

"Even though she is 'Miss Japan', where is the Japanese essence?" wrote another.

"This person is not even a mix with Japanese but 100 per cent Ukrainian. She is beautiful, but this is 'Miss Japan'. Where is the Japaneseness?" one person added.

Others speculated whether the result was influenced by the Ukraine conflict or if it indicated a preference for Western beauty standards over Asian ones.

Ai Wada, the organiser of the pageant, said after the announcement that it "gave us an opportunity to rethink what Japanese beauty is".

"Following today’s result, there is one thing I am convinced of… Japanese beauty exists not in the appearance, not in the blood, but it exists firmly in our heart,” she added.

It is not the first time the Miss Japan contest has stirred up controversy in the country.

In 2015, Ariana Miyamoto became the first biracial woman to be crowned Miss Japan.

She was born to a Japanese woman and her father was African American. At the time questions were raised over the crowning of a mixed race person at the pageant.