Ukrainian Who Won Miss Japan Title Returns Crown After Infidelity Controversy (Photo: Reproduction/Instagram)
Karolina Shiino, who was crowned Miss Japan a few weeks ago, returned her title after it was revealed she had an affair with a married man.
The 26-year-old Ukrainian had already faced controversies for being the first naturalized Japanese citizen to win the contest on January 22. Shiino moved to Japan when she was just five years old and was raised in Nagoya after her mother married a Japanese man.
Some pageant viewers were dissatisfied with the final result and posted on social media saying she was “ethnically 0% Japanese” and “wasn’t even born in Japan.”
Ai Wada, the pageant organizer, pushed back on criticisms, stating that judges chose Shiino with full confidence. “She speaks and writes in a beautiful and polite Japanese. She is more Japanese than us,” Wada explained.
However, just a few days later, Japanese newspaper Shukan Bunshun revealed that the Miss Japan winner was in a relationship with a married man. Initially, contest organizers denied the claim, saying the man had presented himself as single to Shiino.
However, earlier this week, the association revealed that Shiino was indeed aware of his marriage and apologized for initially denying it.
“Today, February 5th, we received a request from Karolina Shiino, winner of Miss Japan, to decline the award due to personal circumstances,” the association said in a statement.
“We sincerely accept our responsibility for causing a series of incidents. We apologize for any inconvenience caused to the sponsors who supported the competition, the teachers who acted as judges, and all involved. We offer our sincere apologies.”
Following this controversy, the association accepted Shiino’s offer to return the Miss Japan title and announced the title would remain vacant until next year.
Shiino released a statement on her Instagram page saying she was “truly sorry” for the commotion she caused and for “betraying” her fans.
In addition to the initial controversy of being the first person of European descent to win the Miss Japan title, Shiino also became the first winner to resign from the title.
Karolina Shiino (Photo: Reproduction/Instagram)
