Ukraine-born Miss Japan forced to give up title after affair with ‘muscle doctor’
A UKRAINIAN-BORN model crowned Miss Japan has been forced to give up her title after having an affair with a married man.
Karolina Shiino, 26, a naturalised Japanese citizen who had already generated attention for winning the title despite not being ethnically Japanese, relinquished her crown after just two weeks.
Her decision came after it emerged she had been in a relationship with a married physician and influencer known as “muscle doctor”, in defiance of the puritanical culture that surrounds beauty pageants and expectation that contestants be blemish-free.
Following the revelations in a news article by magazine The Shukan Bunshun, organisers of the event released a statement saying the model had “requested to withdraw from the contest due to personal reasons”.
There were several runners-up in the pageant but Kaoru Wada, chairman of the Miss Japan Association, said the 2024 title would remain “vacant”.
Ms Shiino made her own statement on Instagram, where she apologised to the man’s wife and family and everyone else who had been affected. She said she was parting ways with her talent agency and admitted there had been discrepancies in her previous explanations about their relationship.
She said that “confusion and fear” had prevented her from telling the truth, adding that: “I am truly sorry for causing a lot of trouble for many people and betraying those who have supported me.”
Japanese media said she had initially told her agency that she had ended the relationship when she realised the man was married, but it later emerged that she had continued to see him.
The doctor was named by the tabloid as Takuma Maeda, who also gave an apology on his Instagram account for upsetting people, including Ms Shiino, although he said he did not agree with the “one-sided” nature of the story and asked for privacy. He said he had no intention of divorcing his wife.
Ms Shiino was the first person of European heritage to win the Miss Japan contest, causing a national debate over East Asian identity.
While she speaks fluent Japanese and has lived in the country since she was five, the decision prompted criticism that she did not represent traditional Japanese beauty ideals, although supporters said she was helping to redefine what it means to be Japanese.
The model was born in Ukraine to Ukrainian parents but she relocated to Nagoya, Japan’s fourth most populous city, in 1998, when her mother remarried a Japanese man. In January, her victory in the Miss
Japan competition prompted debate over “Japaneseness” and shifting demographics.
Organisers of the event defended crowning Ms Shiino, pointing out that the judges were drawn to her because of her “confidence”.
Ai Wada, the pageant organiser, told the BBC that “she speaks and writes in beautiful and polite Japanese,” adding: “She is more Japanese than we are.”
Shortly after she was crowned, the tearful beauty queen said there had been “racial barriers” that had made it “challenging” to be accepted.
Ms Shiino later told CNN that the recognition of her victory was a defining moment. “I wanted to be recognised as a Japanese person,” she said.
“I kept being told that I’m not Japanese, but I am absolutely Japanese, so I entered Miss Japan genuinely believing in myself. I was really happy to be recognised like this.”
Telling the news channel about the difficulties she faced growing up in ethnically homogenous Japan, which has relatively low levels of immigration, she urged a broader definition of who should be considered Japanese.
“After all, we live in an era of diversity – where diversity is needed,” she said.
Her win divided Japan. Some acknowledged it as being a “sign of the times”. However,
Japan is a renowned homogenous society as a result of centuries of cultural isolation, strict immigration laws and strong pressures for conformity, and her crown was denounced by several detractors on social media.
“This person who was chosen as Miss Japan is not even a mix with Japanese but 100 per cent pure Ukrainian,” said one post. The demographic in Japan is slowly shifting, owing to the demands of globalisation and a shrinking workforce that has been impacted by a ageing population and declining birthrate. This has led to a more liberal immigration policy.
‘Sorry for causing a lot of trouble for many people and betraying those who supported me’