Priyanka Yoshikawa smiles as she holds the trophy after winning the Miss Japan title during the Miss World Japan 2016 Beauty Pageant in Tokyo on September 5, 2016.
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Yoshikawa said she was confident she could challenge the perception that mixed race children are not quite Japanese enough. Last year, the victor of Miss Universe Japan was Ariana Miyamoto, who is half African American. Yoshikawa, who was crowned Monday, Sept. 5, has a certificate in elephant training, teaches English to children, enjoys kickboxing and volunteers as a translator at medical meetings. She says living overseas gave her a broader perspective, but that she still calls Japan home.
Some Twitter users wondered if a “pure” Japanese contestant would ever win the title.
“Just pick a proper Japanese”, demanded one unnamed critic. “What’s the point of a pageant like this now?”
Miss Japan 2015, Ariana Miyamoto. “Year in India one of my life’s best’ Miss Japan Priyanka Yoshikawa traces her roots to Bengal, and is a descendant of the state’s first CM Prafulla Chandra Ghosh (He was her grandfather’s uncle)”.
Last year, Ariana Miyamoto of Japanese and African American heritage, dubbed a “haafu” (half, to describe a bi-racial person), was the first woman to be crowned Miss Japan, and now following her footsteps, this year, a half-Indian woman has bagged the title. Another said, “She’s not bad, but wasn’t there a pure Japanese to represent Japan?”.
“Before Ariana, haafu girls couldn’t represent Japan”, Yoshikawa, who is also an elephant trainer and kickboxer, said in an interview after her victory.
“I was born and raised in Japan but, because of my skin, people think I’m a foreigner”, Miyamoto said. “When I’m overseas, people never ask me what mix I am.As Miss Japan, hopefully I can help change perceptions so that it can be the same here too”. “I’m proud that I have Indian in me”. Miyamoto faced criticism that she doesn’t look Japanese enough, even though she mostly grew up in Japan and speaks the language perfectly.
“I know a lot of people who are haafu and suffer”, said Priyanka, who is also an avid kick-boxer. Others said the two mixed-race choices showed Japan was more accepting of ethnic diversity.
‘We have problems, we’ve been struggling and it hurts.
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“That’s what I thought too”, she added. I’m proud that I have Indian blood in me.
