Ariana Miyamoto has just been crowned Miss Universe Japan, and what makes her unique is the color of her skin. Born in Nagasaki, the 20-year-old has a Japanese mother and an African American father.
Miyamoto was chosen from 45 contestants to be Japan’s representative in 2015’s Miss Universe beauty pageant. She was obviously nervous about how people would respond to her. She said,
I thought ‘I wonder if a hafu like me would be okay’ and had insecurities… I think the world pageant will be a bit more vigorous, but I want to be myself and try my best.”
“Hafu” is Japanese for biracial, in case you were wondering. Even though Miyamoto’s win should be a cause for celebration, she still has her critics.
There are some people in Japan who think that, because of her mixed race, she should not be the one to represent Japan. They want a “pure blooded Japanese” at the Miss Universe pageant. Whatever the critics think, though, everyone else is more than pleased about the reigning Miss Universe Japan.
Miyamoto is 173 cm tall, and has hips measuring 87 cm, a waist measuring 60 cm and a bust of 87 cm. She studied in her hometown up to middle school, then went to the United States for junior high, high school and university. She worked part-time as a bartender before getting a 5th degree of mastery in Japanese calligraphy and going back to Japan.
After her studies, Miyamoto started to pursue modeling in Japan. She was obviously talented because she’s gone on to be Miss Universe Japan.
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When she is not modeling, Miyamoto is usually working with motorcycles and heavy tools. Interesting hobbies for a supermodel.
In Japan, there are 20,000 half-Japanese children born every year. This includes multiethnic as well as multiracial babies. Furthermore, the Japanese are not afraid of adopting cultures and attributes from around the world–just google Japanese dancehall and see for yourself.
This means that Japan truly is ready to have a multiracial representative. Sadly, there are still a lot of countries where something like this just doesn’t happen.
What do you think about Miss Universe Japan?
Image Src: Jade ThaiCatwalk / Shutterstock.com
