CNN —The face of Japanese beauty is now a Ukrainian-born model — at least according to pageant judges who sparked a debate on cultural identity by naming 26-year-old Karolina Shiino as Miss Japan on Monday. Ukrainian-born model Karolina Shiino was crowned Miss Nippon on Monday. Miss Japan Association/Handout via ReutersShiino’s win comes almost 10 years after Ariana Miyamoto became the first biracial contestant to be crowned Miss Universe Japan, one of several other national-level pageant titles. Miss Nippon is not part of the international beauty pageant circuit and is unaffiliated with global competitions like Miss World and Miss Universe. The first Miss Nippon contest, held in 1950, was sponsored by one of Japan’s largest newspapers, the Yomiuri Shimbun.

---

Persons: Karolina Shiino, “, ”, Shiino, Kazuki Oishi, I’m, Karolina, ” Karolina Shiino, Hiroe Yamashita, Karolina Shiino’s, Ariana Miyamoto, Miyamoto, Fujiko Yamamoto, Shizuo Wada, Ai Wada Organizations: CNN, Japan, Miss Nippon, Miss, Pew, Miss Japan Association, Handout, Reuters Shiino’s, Miss Universe Japan, Yomiuri Shimbun, Miss Nippon contest’s Locations: Ukrainian, Nagoya, Tokyo, Miss Japan, Japan, United States