With a Japanese mother and African American father, Ariana Miyamoto has become the first bi-racial woman to be crowned Miss Japan.
Miyamoto was crowned Miss Universe Japan in March and will represent Japan at the Miss Universe beauty pageant.
However Ariana has caused a lot of debate on Social media with some people saying she is not Japanese enough to be crowned miss Japan.
20-year-old Ariana Miyamoto, the 2015 Miss Japan winner, was born to a Japanese mother and American father and raised in Nagasaki, Japan.
Despite her inherent Japanese qualities and birthright, she has had to prove she is of Japanese ancestry after criticism from social media.
Miyamoto was born in Nagasaki and moved to the U.S. for high school before returning to Japan as a bartender. She left bar-tending to pursue a career in modeling and pageantry and to her surprise succeeded in the industry.
Miyamoto who speaks fluent Japanese says she intends to use her fame to break down cultural barriers.
“I was prepared for the criticism,” the 21-year-old model told AFP. “I’d be lying to say it didn’t hurt at all. I’m Japanese — I stand up and bow when I answer the phone. But that criticism did give me extra motivation.”
The criticism stems from the fact that in Japan, Miyamoto is known as hafu (or haafu) — a word that refers to multiracial or multiethnic people who are half-Japanese. And there is a pervasive feeling in Japan, which is considered one of the most homogeneous places on Earth, that mixed-race people are not fully Japanese, according to NBC News.
