The resignation came after local tabloid Shukan Bunshun wrote that she was in a relationship with a married man, BBC News reported on Tuesday.
According to the BBC, The Miss Japan Association initially defended Shiino and said that she hadn't known the man was married. But the company retracted its previous statement on Monday, saying that the model had confessed to knowing about the man's marriage to begin with, the publication added.
Ukraine-born Karolina Shiino created quite a stir after she was crowned Miss Japan 2024. Her win was opposed by people who claimed she didn’t represent traditional Japanese beauty ideals. She has now returned her crown after a report revealed her affair with a married man.
Amidst the debate over the beauty pageant organisation crowning Shiino as Miss Japan 2024, a local magazine Shukan Bunshun called attention to her alleged affair with a married man, The Japan Times reported.
Shiino's victory sparked debate among social media users. Some people accused the pageant organizers of "whitewashing" by giving the crown to someone who wasn't ethnically Japanese.
Others suggested that Shiino's win could be an opportunity to challenge traditional ideas of what it means to be Japanese.
