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Priyanka Yoshikawa (吉川 プリアンカ, Yoshikawa Purianka, born Priyanka Ghosh; 20 January 1994) is a Japanese beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss World Japan 2016. She is of mixed Japanese and Indian descent. Yoshikawa is the second half-Japanese woman to win a major beauty pageant in Japan after Ariana Miyamoto, who won the Miss Universe Japan title in 2015.

Miss World Japan 2016

On 6 September 2016, Yoshikawa was crowned as Miss World Japan 2016 (Miss Japan 2016). She competed at Miss World 2016 pageant on December in United States and placed in the top 20.

Personal life

Yoshikawa's mother is Japanese and her father is Bengali Indian. Her great-grandfather Prafulla Chandra Ghosh was a politician and the first Chief Minister of the Indian state of West Bengal.

Yoshikawa was born in Tokyo. From ages 6 to 9, she lived in Sacramento, California. She also lived in Kolkata for one year before returning to Japan. She speaks fluent English, Bengali and Japanese. Before becoming Miss World Japan 2016, she worked as a translator and art therapist and also has a license to train elephants.

In 2020, Yoshikawa launched MUKOOMI, a CBD-based wellness and skincare line.

Discrimination

Speaking to AFP news, Yoshikawa recalled how she felt like a “germ” growing up in Japan due to her mixed-race heritage. She also stated that her experiences of discrimination were common among other half-Japanese individuals that she knew.

Following her win to represent Miss Japan in 2016, the BBC reported that she received some backlash from Japanese netizens who questioned how someone who isn’t of “pure” Japanese ancestry could represent Japan. In response, Yoshikawa stated that while she had some confusion over her identity due to her half-Indian ancestry, she knows that she is “Japanese” and proud to represent her native country.

References

1. "Half-Indian Priyanka Yoshikawa Crowned Miss Japan". NDTV. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
2. ^ "Miss Japan won by half Indian Priyanka Yoshikawa". BBC News. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
3. McCurry, Justin (6 September 2016). "'Haafu' and proud: Miss World Japan won by mixed-race contestant". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
4. "এবার মিস জাপান হলেন বাংলাদেশি কন্যা প্রিয়াঙ্কা" [This time Miss Japan is the Bangladeshi girl Priyanka]. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). 6 September 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016.
5. "বাংলাদেশি বংশোদ্ভুত প্রিয়াংকাকে নিয়ে ভারতে মাতামাতি" [Priyanka, who is of Bangladeshi origin, is in a frenzy in India]. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016.
6. ^ Singh, Karan Deep (8 September 2016). "New Miss Japan Priyanka Yoshikawa on Her Indian Origins: I Thought I Wasn't Normal". India Real Time (Blog). The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
7. "Half-Indian Priyanka Yoshikawa crowned Miss Japan, but not everyone's impressed". Hindustan Times. AFP. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
8. "MUKOOMI online store".

External links

• Priyanka Yoshikawa on Twitter
• Miss World Japan

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• 1994 births
• Living people
• Japanese beauty pageant winners
• Japanese female models
• Models from Tokyo
• Japanese people of Indian descent
• Japanese people of Bengali descent
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• Miss World 2016 delegates
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