Miss Universe Japan 2015 Criticised On Social Media Because She Does Not Look 'Japanese'

Japan's newest Miss Universe contestant is facing criticism on the media for not “looking Japanese” enough. Ariana Miyamoto is a 20-year-old contestant from Japan who will participate in the Miss Universe 2015 contest. However, many people are not happy because of her ethnicity.

Though Miyamoto's mother is a Japanese woman but she has an African-American father. She was raised in Nagasaki, Japan but went to the U.S. for her studies. Miyamoto came back to Japan to pursue a career in modelling. She said in her interview with Japanese press that "while she doesn't “look Japanese” on the outside, on the inside, there are many Japanese things about her.”

In Japan, she is called a haafu (or hafu) or half-Japanese because of her mixed ethnicity and has received much criticism on various social media platforms, various websites report. “Is it ok to choose a haafu to represent Japan? Sometimes the criteria which they use to select Miss Universe is a bit of a mystery,” writes @sabu_love_a on Twitter, according to a Japanese language translation on The Washington Post.

Another Twitter user with handle @2ygravity wrote that there is a “contradiction” in choosing Miyamoto because she is “a haafu.” Other critics said that even though Miyamoto is Miss Universe Japan, “her face is foreign no matter how you look at it!” Though Miss Universe Japan has received a lot of criticism on the media because of her mixed race and different facial features, she has also received an equal amount of support, according to Japan's Rocket News 24.

Miyamoto is master of Japanese calligraphy and loves to cook and travel. She is trying her best to remove the negativity in her life and focus on winning. She is aware of the fact that the Miss Universe 2015 contest if “going to be tough” but has a firm belief in herself. Miyamoto idolises singer Mariah Carey and compares herself to the “Hero” singer. Carey faced a lot of “racial hurdles” in her career and “overcame them and became a top star,” said Miyamoto to the website.

For any questions/comments on the article, you may contact the writer at: n.tewari@ibtimes.com.au