The newly crowned Miss Universe Japan — who was born and raised in Nagasaki and speaks fluent Japanese — isn’t Japanese enough, some critics say. Ariana Miyamoto has had to defend… ...

Ariana Miyamoto (C) from Miyazaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, makes a speech in Tokyo on March 12 after being chosen to represent the country at this year's Miss Universe contest.

"The face of Miss Universe Japan is obviously [that of] a foreigner!" griped another. "I wasn't surprised by it," Miyamoto says to Newsweek of her reaction. "I was expecting it, actually." ...

Biracial Miss Universe Japan brings racial issues to spotlight 03:54. Walking through the Shibuya section of Tokyo, Ariana Miyamoto certainly turns heads -- and she wants to use that attention to ...

Nishikura told NBC that Miyamoto’s selection as Miss Universe Japan “is a huge step forward in expanding the definition of what it means to be Japanese.

Ariana Miyamoto, a native of Nagasaki who has a Japanese mother and an African American father, also faced fierce criticism when she was chosen to represent Japan in the Miss Universe pageant in 2015.

Before Carolina Shiino, biracial model Ariana Miyamoto represented Japan in Miss Universe. Shiino is only the latest to face the repercussions of questions over what makes someone Japanese.

Akiko Kojima was the first Japanese woman to win the Miss Universe competition in 1959. Luz Zuluaga, Miss Universe 1958, crowns Akiko Kojima as Miss Universe 1959. Bettmann/Getty Images ...

Ariana Miyamoto, a native of Nagasaki who has a Japanese mother and an African American father, also faced fierce criticism when she was chosen to represent Japan in the Miss Universe pageant in 2015.

Ariana Miyamoto, a native of Nagasaki who has a Japanese mother and an African American father, also faced fierce criticism when she was chosen to represent Japan in the Miss Universe pageant in 2015.