CORRECTS NAME SPELLING: Contestants including Carolina Shiino, who won the Miss Nippon (Japan) Grand Prix, center, pose for a photo after the contest

Ukrainian-born Miss Japan rekindles an old question: What does it mean to be Japanese?

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2024-02-12 20:00:02

CORRECTS NAME SPELLING: Contestants including Carolina Shiino, who won the Miss Nippon (Japan) Grand Prix, center, pose for a photo after the contest in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Crowned Miss Japan this week, Ukrainian-born Carolina Shiino cried with joy, thankful for the recognition of her identity as Japanese. (Miss Nippon Association via AP)

TOKYO (AP) — Crowned Miss Japan this week, Ukrainian-born Carolina Shiino cried with joy, thankful for the recognition of her identity as Japanese. But her Caucasian look rekindled an old question in a country where many people value homogeneity and conformity: What does it mean to be Japanese?

Shiino has lived in Japan since moving here at age 5 and became a naturalized citizen in 2022. Now 26, she works as a model and says she has as strong a sense of Japanese identity as anyone else, despite her non-Japanese look.

“It really is like a dream,” Shiino said in fluent Japanese in her tearful acceptance speech Monday. “I’ve faced a racial barrier. Even though I’m Japanese, there have been times when I was not accepted. I’m full of gratitude today that I have been accepted as Japanese.”