Miss Universe Japan Ariana Miyamoto facing ire for not being Japanese enough

Ariana Miyamoto, the Miss Universe contestant from Japan is facing backlash at home after winning the beauty pageant as fans think she is not Japanese enough to represent their country.

Miyamoto will be the first half Japanese and half African-American to represent her country at the international beauty pageant, a Kotaku report reads.

The report states that the 20-year-old was initially hesitant to accept the crown as she was sceptical about "whether or not it would be okay for a hafu [half-Japanese] like her to represent Japan."

Miyamoto, the first mixed race beauty queen of Japan, has a Japanese mother and an African-American father from the US.

Right after winning the title, Miyamoto received backlash from fans who questioned her eligibility to represent their country.

"Is it okay to select a hafu to represent Japan?" one Twitter user wrote, according to Kotaku.

While another said "Because this is Miss Universe Japan, don't you think hafu are a no-no?" When not wondering if this was "okay," others said things like she didn't look Japanese, and that her face was "too gaijin [foreign or non-Japanese]."

Some social media users even went on to comment on her Japanese blood and said the country deserved a "pure-blooded Japanese" (junnihon) beauty.

However, support for the beauty queen also started pouring in after the sharp criticism.

Born and raised in Nagasaki, Miyamoto can speak fluent Japanese and dreams of bringing the Miss Universe title back home.

"The world competition is going to be tough," she told Rocket News 24. "But I'll believe in myself and continue doing my best."