Miss Universe Japan ( ja, ミス・ユニバース・ジャパン) is a national

Beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

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 ...

to select an official candidate for the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

pageant. Since 2018, the national director of Miss Universe Japan is

Hiroko Mima is a Japanese fashion model, Sportsperson, athlete and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe Japan 2008. she then represented Japan at Miss Universe 2008 in Vietnam and placed Top 15. Biography Mima currently attends Nihon University ...

History

When the Miss Universe Japan pageant was founded in 1998, it was run by French national director

Ines Ligron Ines or INES may refer to: People * Ines (name), a feminine given name, also written as Inés or Inês * Saint Ines or Agnes (), Roman virgin–martyr * Eda-Ines Etti (stage name: ''Ines''; born 1981), Estonian singer Places * Doña Ines, a volca ...

. Until 2007, the organisation managed to produce one winner, two top 5 runners-up and one top 15 semifinalist at the Miss Universe pageant. Ligron was catapulted to the international spotlight when

Riyo Mori (born December 24, 1986) is a Japanese actress, dancer, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2007 in Mexico City. Personal life An only child, Riyo Mori began dancing at the age of 4. She has studied at Quinte Ballet School of ...

won the second Miss Universe crown for Japan in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. In 2009, Ligron left the organisation which resulted in a different team now leading the organisation.

National directors

*1952 Miss Japan - Yoshinaga (Japanese-American Press) *1998 Miss Universe Japan -

Inès Ligron Inès Ligron is a French fashion and beauty expert, best known for her work with fashion houses, beauty firms, advertising agencies, and magazine editors. Ligron also owns a beauty academy in Japan called ''WCBA by Ines Ligron''. Ines is the fac ...

(WCBA) *2010 Miss Universe Japan - Izumi Toda and Akihiro Yoshida (HDR Corporation) *2018 Miss Universe Japan - Hiroko Mima

International crowns

* Two –

winners: **

(

) **

Akiko Kojima is a Japanese model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1959, making her the first Japanese and Asian woman to win the title. Biography Kojima was a 22-year-old model from Tokyo, Japan when she bested four other finalists from Nor ...

(

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

)

Gallery of winners

File:Riyo_Mori_headshot.png,

Titleholders

::''The Miss Japan pageant existed from 1952 to 1995. During that period, the pageant managed to produce a winner and three top 5 finalists at the Miss Universe pageant. In 1959,

claimed the first crown for Japan. After a top 12 semifinalist placement in 1975, Japan managed to place only one more time prior to 1995, when Mizuho Sakaguchi took fourth place in 1988. In 1998, the Miss Universe Japan pageant acquired the Miss Universe license. The winner of Miss Universe Japan (MUJ) represents her country at

. On occasion, when the winner does not qualify (due to age) for either contest, a runner-up is sent.''

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miss Universe Japan

Beauty pageants in Japan Recurring events established in 1998 1998 establishments in Japan Japanese awards