Karolina Shiino, a Ukraine-born model who became the first woman of European descent to win the Miss Japan contest in January 2024, gave up her title after a tabloid magazine exposed her affair with a married man.

Shiino, who had faced criticism for not being “Japanese enough”, apologized for causing trouble and betraying her supporters. The Miss Japan Association accepted her request to withdraw from the contest and said the title would remain vacant for the rest of the year.

Shiino’s win had sparked a debate on cultural identity and diversity in Japan, a country with low levels of immigration and a homogeneous population.

Japan is a country that has often been seen as homogeneous and resistant to diversity. However, in recent years, Japan has been facing various challenges and opportunities that require it to rethink its cultural identity and embrace diversity.

In a world that is getting smaller and cultures are getting closer due to technology, Japan, being a leader in the industry, needs to modernize it’s immigration policies needs to be modernized in order to be included in the globalization that is currently happening.

The struggles of foreigners in Japan is also a struggle that many ethnic minorities and indigenous people from Japan also face such as Okinawans and the Ainu. The resistance to diversity is much deeper than just the arrival of the “western word”.

Currently in Japan, the population is shrinking, which is affecting the workforce, birth rate, and local industry. Acceptance of skilled labor from oversees would benefit the country. A sharing of ideas can also happen with the acceptance of more international student studying in Japan’s school system

The balance between national pride and globalization is a struggle that many nations face. In Japan, this balance is needed to be found soon in order to keep Japan as one of the heads in a world of technology and commerce.