CNN —The Ukrainian-born beauty queen who sparked a debate on cultural identity by being named Miss Japan has relinquished her title just two weeks after being crowned. Karolina Shiino, the first person of predominantly European heritage ever to win the Miss Nippon contest (which takes its title from the country’s Japanese name), announced her decision to step down on Monday following local newspaper allegations of an affair with a married man. “I wanted to be recognized as a Japanese person,” Shiino told CNN in Tokyo following her win last month. “I kept being told that I’m not Japanese, but I am absolutely Japanese, so I entered Miss Japan genuinely believing in myself. “If the Miss Nippon contest is based on the concept of beauty, I personally wish that it would be based on standards of Japanese beauty,” historian Hiroe Yamashita wrote on X following Shiino’s victory.

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Persons: Karolina Shiino, “, Shiino, Kaoru Wada, ” Shiino, Kazuki Oishi, I’m, Hiroe Yamashita, Karolina Shiino’s Organizations: CNN, Miss, Miss Nippon, Miss Nippon Association Locations: Miss Japan, Nagoya, Tokyo, Asia, Japan