Karolina Shiino, the Ukrainian-born girl who sparked controversy in Japan after winning the island nation’s Miss pageant last month, has relinquished her crown after local media revealed she had an affair with a married man, The Guardian reports.

Shiino, 26, was born in Ukraine and moved to Japan when she was just 5 years old with her mother, who married a Japanese man.

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The appointment of a young woman as Miss Japan in January sparked a heated controversy on social media, with many questioning whether she really represents Japan.

“So someone who doesn’t have a drop of Japanese blood and doesn’t have any trace of ‘Japaneseness’ will represent Japanese women,” was one of the messages posted on the “X” platform, formerly Twitter.

Others believed that the girl has the right to represent the country in which she lives. “If you have Japanese citizenship, you are Japanese. Isn’t that all there is to say? What else is there to prove?” wrote another user on X.

Another “Miss Japan” will be chosen no earlier than next year

Shiino, who was naturalized by Japan in 2022, returned her column after the scandalous magazine Shukan Bunshun reported that she was in a relationship with a married doctor.

The young woman said that at first she was very afraid to admit the truth after the article was published.

“I’m truly sorry for the huge amount of trouble I’ve caused and for betraying those who supported me,” she concluded on Instagram Monday night.

The Miss Japan Association announced it had accepted Shiino’s request to relinquish the crown, adding that she was “seriously reflecting” on her role in the scandal.

The association also apologized to the pageant’s judges and sponsors, saying the Miss Japan title would remain vacant until next year’s pageant.

Japanese media reported that pageant organizers supported Shiino after reports of her affair surfaced when she told representatives of her modeling agency that she ended the relationship after learning that the man she was having an affair with was married.

But later, the modeling agency said it had confirmed that the girl was still dating the man.