Priyanka Yoshikawa
Priyanka Yoshikawa, Miss Japan 2016
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Miss Japan 2016
Priyanka Yoshikawa has an elephant trainer's licence.
AFP, Half-Indian `jumbo whisperer' Priyanka crowned Miss Japan. Sep 06 2016
A half-Indian beauty queen with an elephant trainer's licence was crowned Miss Japan on Monday, striking a fresh blow for racial equality .
Priyanka Yoshikawa's tearful victory comes a year after Ariana Miyamoto faced an ugly backlash for becoming the first black woman to represent Japan.
Social media lit up after Miyamoto's trail-blazing triumph as critics complained that Miss Universe Japan should instead have been won by a “pure“ Japanese rather than a “haafu“ -the Japanese for “half “, a word used to describe mixed race. “Before Ariana, haafu girls couldn't represent Japan,“ Yoshikawa said. Yoshikawa, born in Tokyo to an Indian father and a Japanese mother, vowed to continue the fight against racial prejudice in homogenous Japan, where multira cial children make up just 2% of those born annually .
“We are Japanese. Yes, I'm half Indian and people are asking me about my `purity' -yes, my dad is Indian and I'm proud of it, I'm proud that I have Indian in me. But that does not mean I'm not Japanese.“
“I know a lot of people who are haafu and suffer,“ said Yoshikawa. "I know a lot of people who are haafu and suffer," she said. "When I came back to Japan, everyone thought I was a germ."
"Like if they touched me they would be touching something bad. But I'm thankful because that made me really strong."
Now, Ms Yoshikawa is being criticised for having an Indian father and some Indians have taken to social media to advise the Japanese to "get over it". One Twitter user said she won because she "must have deserved it" while another said "after Gautam Buddha, Ms Yoshikawa is the only Indian to make it big in Japan".
Ms Yoshikawa's win did not trigger the backlash that Ms Miyamoto received on social media.
There were however, several on Twitter that expressed unhappiness.
"It's like we're saying a pure Japanese face can't be a winner," said one user.
"What's the point of holding a pageant like this now? Zero national characteristics," another complained.
Ms Yoshikawa however, was not letting the doubters get to her.
"There was a time as a kid when I was confused about my identity," she said. "But I've lived in Japan so long now I feel Japanese." (BBC)
