Karolina Shiino Explained

Birth Date:24 August 1997
Birth Place:Ternopil, Ukraine
Citizenship:Japanese
Occupation:Model

Karolina Shiino (Japanese: 椎野カロリーナ|Shiino Karolīna; Ukrainian: Кароліна Шиїно|Karolina Shyino; born 24 August 1997) is a Japanese model. Born in Ukraine, she moved to Japan with her mother when she was five and became the first naturalised Japanese citizen to win the Miss Nippon beauty pageant.[1] Shiino later declined the title, and her resignation was accepted by the organisers.[2]

Biography

Shiino was born in Ternopil, western Ukraine in 1997 to Ukrainian parents and moved to Nagoya, Japan at the age of five when her mother Svitlana married her Japanese step-father.[3] [4] Shiino has said that she feels Japanese in both "speech and mind", but she has stated that she had to regularly endure commentary while she was growing up about how she looked different.[5] Svitlana Shiino is also a model and a winner of multiple contests.

On February 27, 2021, Shiino appeared on "ARIYOSHI'S Meeting for Reviewing", she regretted cheating in her profile. In her profile, she claimed to be trilingual, speaking Japanese, Ukrainian, and Russian, but in reality, she revealed that she could only speak Japanese. She can understand Ukrainian, but is unable to speak it.[6]

2024 Miss Nippon Grand Prix

In January 2024, Shiino was announced as the winner of the 2024 Miss Nippon Grand Prix beauty pageant.[7] [8] She is the first naturalised Japanese citizen to win the pageant.[9] The pageant's judges were drawn to Shiino's confidence. The pageant's operator said she won the title because she is a hard-working and humble Japanese woman with a strong sense of consideration for others. Her foreign heritage sparked debates over what it means to be "Japanese" and discussions on the demographics of Japan.[10] [11] [12] After winning the pageant, Shiino stated that she was grateful to be accepted as Japanese and said, "I hope to contribute to building a society that respects diversity and is not judgmental about how people look."[13]

Revocation of the title Miss Nippon 2024

On January 31, Shūkan Bunshun reported that Shiino was having an affair with a married man. The Miss Nippon Grand Prix organizers initially denied the report as untrue, but on February 5, Shiino admitted to the affair, withdrew her Miss Nippon title, and offered to terminate her contract with her entertainment agency.[14] In response, the Miss Nippon Grand Prix organizers revoked Shiino's title as Miss Nippon and declared the 2024 Miss Nippon title vacant. On Instagram, Shiino apologized to the wife and family of the doctor with whom she had an affair, as well as to Miss Nippon Grand Prix officials and those who supported her in winning the Miss Nippon title.[15] [16]

Personal life

Shiino received Japanese citizenship in 2022.[17] [18] Her maternal grandmother Maria migrated to Japan in the spring of 2022 as a Ukrainian refugee following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[19]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: 2024-01-24 . Ukrainian-born model winning Miss Japan re-ignites identity debate . 2024-05-30 . en-GB . January 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240125034254/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68078061 . live .
  2. News: Kim . Victoria . Ueno . Hisako . 2024-02-08 . The Brief Reign of Japan’s First Foreign-Born Beauty Queen . 2024-05-30 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
  3. Web site: A girl from Ternopil won the "Miss Japan" competition and stirred up the network . 24 January 2024 . 25 January 2024 . Ukrainian . . 25 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240125023830/https://tabloid.pravda.com.ua/person/model-iz-ternopolya-zdobula-titul-mis-yaponiya-gran-pri-yak-vidreaguvali-koristuvachi-merezhi-2002000/ . live .
  4. Web site: Khan . Zeba . What does it mean to be Japanese? Ukraine-born model wins Miss Japan, social media backlash follows . WION News . January 25, 2024 . January 25, 2024 . January 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240125155715/https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-what-does-it-mean-to-be-japanese-ukraine-born-model-wins-miss-japan-amid-social-media-backlash-683446 . live .
  5. News: Demetriou . Danielle . 24 January 2024 . Ukrainian-born model crowned Miss Japan sparks national identity debate . . 27 January 2024 . 27 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240127075519/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/01/24/ukrainian-born-model-crowned-miss-japan-carolina-shiino/ . live .
  6. Web site: ウクライナ人モデル・カロリーナ、日本語しか話せないと告白「日本人として生きたいんですよ」. WEBザテレビジョン . Japanese . 2024-02-07. February 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210228094520/https://thetv.jp/news/detail/1022448/ . live .
  7. Web site: ミス日本グランプリ 椎野 カロリーナ . Miss Nippon Grand Prix . Japanese . 2024-01-25 . 2024-01-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240124145813/https://www.missnippon.jp/award/miss-grandprix2024/ . live .
  8. News: Khalil . Shaimaa . Ukrainian-born model winning Miss Japan re-ignites identity debate . BBC News . January 24, 2024 . January 25, 2024 . January 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240125034254/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68078061 . live .
  9. News: Sharma . Shweta . January 24, 2024 . Ukrainian-born Japanese woman sparks debate after being crowned Miss Japan . The Independent . January 25, 2024 . January 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240125155038/https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/japan/ukraine-born-carolina-shiino-miss-japan-b2484527.html . live.
  10. Web site: Choi . Christy . 2024-01-26 . 'I am absolutely Japanese': Ukrainian-born model sparks debate by winning Miss Japan pageant . 2024-01-27 . . en . 2024-01-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240126232906/https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/26/style/miss-japan-karolina-shiino-ukraine/index.html . live.
  11. News: Quadri . Sami . January 25, 2024 . Race row erupts after Ukrainian-born model wins Miss Japan title . . January 25, 2024 . January 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240125160835/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/miss-japan-winner-ukraine-carolina-shiino-tokyo-nagoya-b1134713.html . live.
  12. News: 奥原 . 慎平 . January 24, 2024 . 「日本らしい美しさ」SNSで論議 椎野カロリーナさん、初の欧州ルーツ「ミス日本」 . Sankei Shimbun . Japanese . January 25, 2024 . January 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240125171836/https://www.sankei.com/article/20240124-AL6HMZMN3NAEPADI2R4UQKL7MQ/ . live.
  13. News: Ukrainian-born Miss Japan rekindles an old question: What does it mean to be Japanese? . Mari Yamaguchi . AP News . January 29, 2024 . January 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240129083228/https://apnews.com/article/japan-ukraine-beauty-pageant-racism-identity-2646821affa90354bf9fa6757631fbfc . live .
  14. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/06/style/miss-japan-ukraine-relinquishes-crown/index.html Ukrainian-born Miss Japan relinquishes crown following alleged affair
  15. Web site: https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2313370/full/. https://web.archive.org/web/20240205105458/https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2313370/full/. ja:椎野カロリーナ「ミス日本グランプリ」辞退→異例の“空位”に【報告全文】. ja. Oricon. 5 February 2024. 5 February 2024. 5 February 2024.
  16. Web site: https://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/news/2024/02/05/kiji/20240205s00041000268000c.html. ja:ミス日本の椎野カロリーナさん“不倫”認識あった 本人申し出で所属事務所が契約解除. ja. Sports Nippon. 5 February 2024. 5 February 2024.
  17. Web site: 24 January 2024 . Model of Ukrainian origin Karolina Shiino became the winner of the beauty contest "Miss Japan-2024" . 25 January 2024 . . Ukrainian . 25 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240125020932/https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-diaspora/3817685-model-ukrainskogo-pohodzenna-peremogla-na-konkursi-mis-aponia.html . live.
  18. Web site: 24 January 2024 . The model of Ukrainian origin, Karolina Shiino, won the Miss Japan contest: why did it infuriate the Japanese . 25 January 2024 . . Ukrainian . 24 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240124200811/https://show.24tv.ua/karolina-shiyino-stala-mis-yaponiya-reaktsiya-yapontsiv_n2480134 . live .
  19. Web site: 12 April 2022 . Interview with grandmother who evacuated from Ukraine. . 25 January 2024 . . Japanese, Ukrainian . 25 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240125223321/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xJ3XCfBEsA&ab_channel=KARO%E3%81%A1%E3%82%83%E3%82%93%E3%81%AD%E3%82%8B . live .