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19 March 2024

Miss Universe contestant is 'not Japanese enough'

Born to a Japanese mother and African-American, 20-year-old Miyamoto is being criticized on social media for her looks and ethnicity (pictures Courtesy: Facebook)

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By Staff

Japanese Miss Universe contestant has one extra challenge that her co-contestants do not have. Ariana Miyamoto has to defend her ethnicity as critics believe she is not Japanese enough.

Born to a Japanese mother and African-American, 20-year-old Miyamoto is being widely criticized on social media for her looks and ethnicity, reports ‘smh.com’, quoting  ‘The Washington Post’ source.

She says "while she doesn't 'look Japanese' on the outside, on the inside, there are many Japanese things about her."

A native of Sasebo in Nagasaki, Miyamoto boasts an advanced mastery of the art of Japanese calligraphy and speaks the native language without a trace of foreign accent.
 



But her name Miyamoto is known as hafu - a word that refers to multiracial or multiethnic half-Japanese people - and many feel that mixed-race people are not fully Japanese and have taken to social media to express their disapproval.

 



Miyamoto, who grew up in Japan but moved to the US for high school, says Mariah Carey is her major inspiration because of the singer's multiracial background. She likens her efforts to be accepted just like the singer’s. “She faced some racial hurdles, similar to myself, but she overcame them and became a top star, so she's been a big influence on me”, Miyamoto was quoted as saying.

But she does have her fans, too, who counter the discrimination that she’s endured.