(ThyBlackMan.com) Standards of beauty are viewed the world over by the same criteria except when the person in question is of mixed race, specifically, a person of African American blood and another ethnicity. Case in point: Miss Japan 2015, 21 year old Ariana Miyamoto, is of mixed-race, or hafu, as they call it in Japan. By all criterions, she is a woman with a lot to offer in the way of wisdom- A social media superstar! Surely it was her beauty and charisma which won her the title of Miss Universe Japan, but what she wants us to focus on is not her success, but how discrimination almost led to failure. Miss Miyamoto says that discrimination is what gives her courage, keeps her motivated. In an interview with a popular correspondent, she said, “I ran for Miss Japan expecting some criticism”. She goes on to state that though she doesn’t appear Asian on the outside, she feels as though she is very much Japanese on the inside. She feels, nonetheless, that she is treated as a foreigner in her own country. Sound familiar, people of color? Ariana will boast to all listeners that she is proud to be a citizen of Japan. Her father was an African-American Sailor who abruptly left the country, and her mother was revered as a young Japanese woman. Japan is her home, it is the place she spent the better part of her childhood, but there is still much controversy about her representing its people.
Upon Ariana’s triumph the critics took to social media. Some made bashing statements, like “I don’t think a hafu can represent Japan correctly” and that “she has too much black blood in her to be Japanese.” However, others praised her bravery, saying that “having a different ethnicity in you doesn’t make you ANY LESS JAPANESE!” and “Beautiful and articulated, obviously smart… Most countries would claim her as one of us“. According to 
Miyamoto, she is already used to this racism, as since her childhood, she has had children throwing garbage at her and fearing that her darker skin would somehow rub off onto them.
Ariana spent her early childhood in Japan, attending elementary school there, before leaving for Arkansas to be with her venerated father. She spent her high school years in the States, but ultimately returned to her home to become a model. She felt as if Japan needed to hear what she had to say. She states, “I’d really like to spread awareness around the world about racial discrimination, and with more and more international marriages, more children will be born from these marriages, and in this way I hope Japan will become an easier place to live.” This writer, having been subjected to racial discrimination as a child and eventually rising above it, can admire Miss Miyamoto for her courageousness as well as the influence she is making on such a huge international problem; however, the Japanese media seems to disagree. In fact, the amount of coverage on Miss Japan Universe has been minimal at best, covering nothing more than the news of her victory. In her own opinion, more foreigners recognize her than locals with whom she lives amongst every day.
According to some local sources they had no idea who Miss Miyamoto was other than that she was not Japanese. A reporter who interviewed the reigning Miss Japan stated that he was intimidated by her captivating beauty and that nothing about her appearance seemed Japanese. Several other reports say that when she speaks, she is truly Asian, and that something in her tone and dialect is completely soft and beautiful.
The question to my readers is simple: How does one respond to racial discrimination? What is there to be done? Is one human being less of who they are because of a different racial identity?
According to Ariana, the only approach to such intolerance is and must be change, as making a difference in what we are used to seeing is sure to change what we are comfortable with and eventually expand our horizons, if you will. In her recent interviews she extolls the virtues and future of her beautiful home country of Japan and how much she longs to make it a more tolerant place for herself and future generations of mixed race. Criticism is a tough pill to swallow, even for someone so resilient, and the harsh words and opinions of her peers did get to her. She described her feelings, “If I was prepared for the criticism. I’d be lying to say it didn’t hurt at all.” Even after every hurdle the determined young woman faced, she kept her wits about her and went on to claim the prestigious honor of becoming Miss Japan Universe 2015. Instead of treating it as a superficial reward, she used it as a platform to fight against racial discrimination. Bravo to that, Miss Miyamoto.
We can all locate a wealth of information about this controversial anomaly if we simply type her name on any search engine, but there is so much more to learn. As we Americans read between the lines we are able to gather so much more, and possibly make a personal connection.
It is a fact that around 3% of children born each day in Japan have a foreign parent, and the population of foreign people in Japan has grown by twenty percent. If each of these children can influence just a handful of people, the changes seen and experienced will be substantial.
When Miss Miyamoto speaks about her childhood, she can habitually recount memories of being bullied, persecuted and called horrible names. However, she kept it ingrained within her as a deep and painful wound, not even telling her parents. I think we can all agree that she faced some pretty big challenges and earned the right to wear her crown, but what exactly made her decide to run for Miss Japan Universe in the first place? She knew the criticism she would face during her competition, not to mention after her victory. How many of us would have the guts to be resilient in her shoes? Ariana’s breaking point was the death of a dear friend, another mixed raced person, who took his own life.
This is when Miss Miyamoto realized she needed to make a difference, to get the word out about the problems the racially-diverse face in today’s world. Since most of these problems are kept on the low and only spoken about in hushed tones, bringing them to light was undoubtedly a challenge for such a young and talented woman. With all the clamor in my hometown of Chicago relative to the ouster of controversial police chief Garry Mc Carthy, regarding the scandal involving racial disparities in the treatment of Black males, I am encouraged by the integrity of Miss Japan Universe 2015. With her newfound fame, she can get the word out and hopefully open a few minds. Ariana Miyamoto is more than simply the aesthetically diverse Japanese beauty queen; she represents the face of change and hope for tomorrow’s progressive global society.
Staff Writer; Stanley G. Buford
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