is a Japanese fashion model,

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe Japan 2008. she then represented

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

at Miss Universe 2008 in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and placed Top 15.

Biography

Mima currently attends

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

and her major is physical education. Mima suffers from a bone marrow disease which left the right side of her body incapacitated for three months when she was 13 years old, and a nerve disease called Guillain–Barré syndrome in junior high school. Since then Mima has returned to sports and competed seven times at the Japan National Track and Field Competition. She competes in the track and field team with a high jump of 1.65 m, approaching her own height of 1.73 m. Shortly after losing her grandmother, who died when she slipped on the bathroom floor, Mima lost her father in a car accident before winning Miss Universe Japan 2008.

Miss Universe Japan

Hiroko Mima, as a 21-year-old physical education student from Tokushima in Western Japan, was crowned Miss Universe Japan 2008 on April 3, beating out nine other finalists and a total of about 4000 entrants. Staged at the Tokyo International Forum, the final competition featured a "Fashion Island" performance. The nine other contestants who competed against Hiroko Mima were: Kana Anan, Sayo Yamaguchi, Yukari Honna, Moe Aoki, Yuri Horita, Rui Watanabe, Yoshimi Sato, Chie Hirai and Azusa Nishigaki.

Miss Universe 2008

She was the official representative for Japan at the Miss Universe 2008 pageant which took place in Nha Trang,

on July 14, 2008.

Miss Universe Japan National Director

Hiroko Mima is now the National Director of Miss Universe Japan as of 2018. Mima have previously trained

Emiri Miyasaka (born June 16, 1984) is a Japanese actress, model, dancer and beauty pageant titleholder. She competed in the Miss Universe 2009 pageant on August 23, 2009, held in the Bahamas, but didn't place. Miss Universe Japan 2009 Miyasaka beat more than ...

for Miss Universe 2009.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mima, Hiroko 1986 births Living people Miss Universe 2008 contestants Japanese beauty pageant winners People from Tokushima Prefecture Nihon University alumni Models from Tokushima Prefecture