A 24-year-old Japanese-Ghanaian woman will represent Japan in the 69th edition of the Miss Universe pageant.
Winning queen: Aisha Harumi Tochigi, who hails from Chiba Prefecture, was crowned Miss Universe Japan 2020 on Thursday during the local pageant’s finals in Tokyo, Missosology reported.
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- Tochigi bested 29 other candidates for the title.
- This year’s first and second runner-up spots went to Japanese-Nigerian Raimu Kaminashi and Japanese-Filipino Yuki Sonoda, respectively.
- Third runner-up Kilala Watanabe was the only one in the Top 5 who isn’t biracial, with Kiwi-Japanese Marina Little landing the fourth runner-up spot, as Global Asia News pointed out.
Comeback queen: Tochigi competed in last year’s Miss Universe Japan as well, finishing in the Top 5 but lost to last year’s winner, Ako Kamo.
- This year, Tochigi’s response to the pageant’s Q&A portion addressed prejudice and widespread discrimination.
- “I’d like to spread that nobody should be judged by their color (or)…where they come from because this year, there was so much discrimination,” she was quoted as saying.
- She added that discrimination is not just about race but also about age, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- “I’d like to tell people that we shouldn’t judge people by their appearance but understand them, understand each other. It is the key to end discrimination. I’d like to spread that,” she added.
Featured Image via maidigitv (Left), aishatochigi (Right)
