KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 — A Ukraine-born model with Japanese citizenship has relinquished her title as Miss Japan 2024 just two weeks after her controversial win.
On January 22, Karolina Shiino, 26, made history as she became the first person of European descent to be named the 2024 Miss Japan Grand Prix Winner.
Shiino, however, gave up her title on Monday after a Japanese weekly magazine reported last Thursday on her alleged relationship with a married influencer who is also a doctor.
Following the reports, the beauty pageant organisers supported Shiino after she disclosed to her Tokyo-based model agency Free Wave Co. that she stopped seeing the man after discovering that he was married.
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On Monday however, the agency said Shiino had continued seeing him even after discovering his marital status.
Shiino admitted that she was unable to come clean on the matter due to fear and confusion after the article about her scandal surfaced.
“I am sincerely sorry for the huge trouble I caused and for betraying those who supported me,” she wrote on Instagram yesterday.
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Shiino’s victory had already raised eyebrows due to her foreign origins.
Born to Ukrainian parents, Shiino is a naturalised Japanese citizen who grew up in Nagoya after coming to Japan at the age of five.
The Miss Japan Association confirmed on Monday that it has accepted Shiino’s request to relinquish her title and said the title will remain vacant for the rest of the year.
