Ariana Miyamoto will represent Japan in the 2015 Miss Universe competition.
Ariana Miyamoto is the first ever biracial woman to receive the title of Miss Japan Universe. She was crowned on March 12. Yet she is the topic of a hot debate regarding her ethnicity.
Unlike the United States, Japan’s culture and demographics reflect a majority of homogeneous society. According to the CIA Factbook, 98.5% of Japan’s residents are citizens while only 1.5% are foreigners.
Growing up biracial in Japanese culture was not easy for Ariana Miyamoto. 20-year-old beauty Miyamoto is half African and half Japanese. She was born in Sasebo, Japan on May 12, 1994.
"In school, people used to throw garbage at me," Miyamoto said in an interview with CNN.
In Japan, the word “hafu,” exists to describe bi-racial people who are half Japanese. The word when translated means half, in English. Fluent in Japanese and a 5th degree master in calligraphy, Miyamoto is a Japanese citizen. The only difference is her outer appearance because she was born to an African-American father and a Japanese mother. She attended high school in the United States but her previous education was received in Japan, her native country.
"I want to tell the world, even a half-Japanese can represent Japan," Miyamoto said.
At the Miss Japan pageant, she cited American singer Mariah Carey as one of her influences growing up. Mariah Carey is multiracial like Miyamoto. Carey’s father was African American and Venezuelan whereas her mother was Irish.
“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,” said Miyamoto.
She will compete at the Miss Universe competition and hopes to be crowned as successor to Paulina Vega, Miss Universe 2014 of Colombia.
