Karolina Shiino (pic), the Ukraine-born winner of the 2024 Miss Japan beauty pageant, has relinquished her crown amid controversy, contest organisers reported on Feb 5.
Her resignation came after a magazine claimed she was involved with a married man.
The Miss Japan Association has confirmed that Shiino’s title will remain unoccupied for the rest of 2024, marking an unprecedented situation in the pageant’s history.
According to a report by Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun on Jan 31, the 26-year-old was said to be in a romantic relationship with a married doctor.
The Miss Japan Association defended Shiino on Feb 1, stating on its website that the doctor had misrepresented himself as being single, and Shiino was not aware of his marital status.
“Miss Japan Association believes there was no fault on the part of Karolina Shiino,” it said.
However, further revelations indicated that Shiino was aware of the man’s marriage and had misled the public about it, the association said on Feb 5.
Subsequently, she offered an apology and relinquished her title, which the association accepted.
The agency representing Shiino released a statement on Feb 5 acknowledging her continuation of the relationship after her discovery of the doctor’s marital status, and announcing the termination of her contract.
In a personal message shared on Instagram, Shiino expressed her regret, mentioning being “unable to speak the truth due to confusion and fear”.
Shiino was born in Ukraine and moved to Japan at the age of five when her mother married a Japanese man.
Her crowning as Miss Japan on Jan 22 reignited discussions on the essence of Japanese identity.
In an emotional acceptance speech, she had expressed her gratitude for being recognised as Japanese.
“All my life I’ve been told I’m not Japanese enough, both directly and indirectly, but I know I am Japanese. I can’t help it. Nobody has the right to tell me I’m not,” she said during an interview with The Japan Times on Feb 1. — The Straits Times/ANN
