TOKYO, March 18 — Eriana Miyamoto, who was crowned Miss Japan 2015 and will represent Japan in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant, has caused something of a furore here as her detractors are claiming she is not Japanese.
Twenty-one-year-old Miyamoto was born in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture and has spent the majority of her life in Japan bar a stint in the United States where she went to study, Xinhua news agency reports.
At the heart of the controversy is the fact that Miyamoto is mixed-raced, being born to an African-American father and a Japanese mother.
Her Afro-Japanese ethnicity would barely raise an eyebrow in similar global pageants that in recent history have seen a host of ethnically-diverse belles take the crown.
Race, ethnicity and homogeneity in Japan remains a thorny issue.
While popular culture has recently embraced and elevated a growing number of mixed-race nationals in Japan to celebrity status — those of mixed-race, Japanese heritage and those who are half Japanese and half non-Japanese — there remains an archaic ideology in Japan that those with “mixed blood” are not truly “Japanese.”
“Isn't Miss Japan supposed to reflect the beauty of a real Japanese young lady, not a mixed-blooded foreigner?” quizzed one critic on Twitter.
“How can someone who doesn't even look Japanese represent this country in the Miss Universe competition?” queried another.
Other comments on popular social media sites and online blogs were less backwards in coming forward about their racist sentiments.
“They should do blood tests before such events and if a contestant's DNA is less than 100 per cent Japanese she should not be allowed to participate,” one spiteful remark read.
Another claimed that being “half” meant that the “other” half was “less than human.”
But as experts attest, Japan's incessant claims about homogeneity and the false sense of superiority somehow derived from this misconception are utterly baseless.
“I am Japanese and even I know that historically Japan's bloodline is hugely mixed, with historical and DNA evidence proving this country has blood ties with Southeast Asia, North Asia and Astronesia and probably more,” Keiko Gono, a leading sociologist, told Xinhua.
“Independent DNA studies have confirmed irrevocably that around 54 per cent of paternal lineage here and 66 of maternal lineage is of Sino-Korean origin, and any individual or factions claiming otherwise are simply deluded and probably still believe the earth is flat,” Gono said.
But thanks to mixed-race celebrity A-listers like Becky, Rola, Jessica Michibata and Elli-Rose, who regularly grace the covers of glossy fashion magazines and out-wit and out-style their “Japanese” counterparts on TV shows, perhaps the tables of conservative and intolerant Japan are slowly beginning to turn.
And while the stunning Minamoto may have her haters out there, she has already endeared herself to thousands who wish her nothing but success on her journey representing Japan overseas.
“I am thrilled someone who appears untraditional is representing Japan in a global competition, as like it or not, things are changing here and thankfully change is a force greater than ignorance,” Gono said.
“I hope Miyamoto will go on to win the Miss Universe pageant,” she added. — Bernama
