Miss International is a Japanese based international beauty pageant organized by the International
Culture Association or ICA. The pageant was first held in 1960 in Long Beach, California
Miss International is a third largest pageant in the world in terms of having crowned
national winners to participate in the International contest
although Miss Earth is quickly surpassing Miss International in terms of popularity and
relevancy
This international organization and the brand are currently owned
along with Miss International Japan by ICA and miss Paris group
The pageant crown used by the organization is supplied and patented by the Mikimoto Pearl Company
The pageant was created in Long Beach, California in
1960 after the departure of the Miss Universe pageant to Miami Beach
Hosted in Long Beach until 1967 the pageant moved to Japan from 1968 to
1970 being hosted each year in the same city as the Expo 70. For
1971 it was held in Long Beach again, but since 1972, it has been held annually in Japan until
2003
Since 2004 the pageant has been held in either China or Japan
The first winner of the pageant in 1960 was Stella Araneta of Colombia
Since then Japan became the host country and the pageant has mostly been held in Japan
around autumn season either in October or November
The pageant is also called Miss international Beauty
Contestants are expected to serve as
Ambassadors of Peace and Beauty
demonstrating tenderness,
benevolence, friendship, beauty, intelligence,
ability to take action and most importantly a great international sensibility.
The ultimate goal of the Miss International Beauty pageant is to promote world peace,
goodwill, and understanding
In this vlog, I will reveal the four things I like about Miss International and let's start now
At number four the original Goodwill Pageant. Cmpared to its rival major pageants that started out as a bikini contest
without any deep purpose, Miss International is the first pageant in modern history
to promote goodwill among the contestants who are expected to serve as ambassadors of peace and beauty
Between 1968 to 1970 the beauty pageant was held in Japan
commemorating the Osaka World Exposition
The 1968 pageant, which was extremely well received,
was held at the Nippon Budokan and featured the Ginza parade. As a consequence, after
1972, the pageant has been held in Japan with pre-contest events held in China
In 2004 in 2006
It was held in Beijing
and once again in China this time in Chengdu, Szechuan from 2009 to 2011 as part of the
reconstruction support for the areas affected by the Szechuan earthquake
I think that a collaboration within Japanese and Chinese organizers was another attempt to soften the relationship between Japan and China
Which had been strained at times by Japan's refusal to acknowledge its wartime crimes against China
After holding the pageant in Chengdu the contest was held in Okinawa in 2012 and in Tokyo in 2013
The pageant has played an important role in advertising tourism in Japan by widening the circle of goodwill activities of each country's representative
It's nice that this pageant promotes goodwill among the contestants
However, I could not imagine Miss Lebanon Cristina Sawaya making friends with Miss Israel, Shelly Dina'i during the
2002 pageant that Lebanon eventually won Cristina was supposed to represent Lebanon in Miss Universe 2002
but she dropped out of the competition after stating that she would not compete in a pageant with Miss Israel Yamit Har-noy
At number three
Charitable and environmental causes. Did you know that Miss International established the Miss International Foundation
which donates money to underprivileged children around the world through UNICEF and other charity institutions?
The donations also go to the blind, the severely mentally or physically disabled ,and to malnourished children around the world
The foundation's motto is
"cultivate one love movement" which aims at nurturing a nature and peace loving soul
above language and race differences through the loving and the goodness of women
also the Japanese representatives
take part every year in tree planting activities known under the name of "Green Campaign"
aimed at protecting the natural environment
Through this kind of continuous philanthropic activities
the beauty pageant is aiming at becoming more than a beauty contest, an
actual opportunity for the participants to improve their inner selves through
proactively contributing to the international community and international
exchanges.
At number two,
Tradition. Miss International is the only major pageant that I know of that has stuck to tradition. In most of its nearly 60-year history
It has kept the same crown supplied and patented by the Mikimoto Pearl Company. This iconic crown rests on a red velvet cap
which is sewn into the fur line base to which a silk ribbon is used to fasten the crown to the head.
I checked the archives for Miss International and it appears that this type of crown was initially used in
1968. In addition to the crown the winner is also adorned with a cape or a mantle. To
some of us pageant fans the mantle is rather outdated
however
It does symbolize
royalty and authority. For centuries kings and queens have been enthroned
traditionally wearing a coronation mantle while being presented with an orb and scepter which is a symbol of power.
The early winners were not presented with an orb, but they certainly carried a scepter which was used probably until the late 1980s.
Eventually, the scepter was discarded and replaced by a trophy or a plaque. Other customs that make the pageant traditional is engaging the contestants in
a Japanese tea ceremony - a venerated custom that represents purity,
tranquility, respect, and harmony. As far as the competition format goes
three traditional awards have been consistently distributed - Best National Costume. Miss Friendship and Miss Photogenic
Every year the winner and her court stay in Japan for several weeks to travel, to meet up with sponsors, and do charity work
before they return to their countries. And while its rival pageants have either excluded or disregarded the word beauty in their names
Miss International has remained forever traditional by keeping the word. Thus the competition is always called
"Miss International
Beauty Pageant,"
At number one - Ikumi Yoshimatsu
Compared to rival major pageants like Miss Universe and Miss World, Miss International has been virtually scandal-free since it began in
1960. Notice that I said virtually scandal-free and not totally scandal-free. Why?
Because the first-ever major scandal broke out in 2012 and I'll get to that in a minute
but before
2012 I have never heard of a Miss International title holder who had been
involved in any sort of scandal gossip or rumored during her reign
None of the title holders had ever been accused of misconduct or breach of contract. If Miss International, Miss Universe,
Miss World and Miss Earth were sisters Miss International would be considered as the sweetest and nicest of them all
Compared to a sexiest Miss Universe, a worldliest Miss World and an earthiest Miss Earth.
Now let's talk about the 2012 scandal that involved the title holder Ikumi Yoshimatsu who happened to be Japan's
first-ever Miss International winner during her reign
Ikumi filed a criminal complaint
against Genichi Taniguchi - a top agency executive who was also her talent manager and who had ties with
Yakuza - the Japanese Mafia!
According to Ikumi trouble started even before she won.
She was working as an actress and model and the most powerful Japanese talent agency, Burning Productions,
expressed an interest in having one of their colleagues represent her.
Ikumi says she refused the offer because of the alleged ties
the agency has with the powerful organized crime groups
During a press conference at the foreign correspondents club of Japan in Tokyo on December 16, 2013 Ikumi stated,
"Morally, and ethically I cannot work with such people or their associates nor do I want to." She also said that Taniguchi began harassing
her by making threatening phone calls to her family,
appearing unannounced at her photo shoots, and having her trailed by private detectives.
Ikumi filed criminal charges
and a restraining order against Taniguchi who denied the allegations,
claiming that he was simply trying to track down Ikumi's American manager who owed him money.
Yeah right. "I'd like to read my statement that I prepared
on December
11th 2013, I
filed criminal charges
for obstruction of business
via his stalking activities against Mr.Genichi Taniguchi
the Japanese talent agency executive who is president of Pearl Dash
and executive at K-Dash.
I have filed these charges and I'm naming my tormentor in public
Despite his intimidation threats and connections. I
Do this not for my personal benefit
but to voice my concern
and outrage on behalf of all the women Mr. Taniguchi and men like him
has tormented and may have and
May have sent graves
who could not call for help out of fear of retaliation and being possibly fired from their jobs
and ignored in a society where a culture of silence
toward crimes against women has been the standard for centuries.
As a consequence of denouncing the Yakuza, Ikumi was forbidden by ICA, the owners of the pageant, to attend to
2013 finals and to do her farewell walk. She was told to "play sick and shut up"
ICA was criticized for not rallying behind their own queen and later admitted that they were afraid of Taniguchi and wanted to avoid scandal.
It was a knee-jerk response that resulted in critics
questioning whether the management had any concern for the welfare of the contestants or victims of stalking.
Ikumi's story has transformed her into an icon of resistance against the Yakuza who have infiltrated
Japanese society to an alarming degree
I think that it was bold, brazen, and wise of Ikumi to have taken on the Yakuza during her reign,
since I highly doubt that the Japanese media would pay too much attention to her complaint after her reign.
Her plight certainly did catch the attention of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife,
Akia Abe, who met with Ikumi on December 18, 2013
Ikumi spoke to The Japan Times before the meeting and said, "I'm very pleased that Mrs.
Abe has showed concern not only for me but for the rights of all women in Japan.
We need real laws that stop stalkers and prevent needless deaths and injuries before they happen.
We need a society where the stalking of women is not tolerated, even if the stalker is a powerful and important man."
It is very rare for a reigning title holder of a major pageant to take on a corrupt and dangerous
establishment because of fear of being hurt or possibly killed.
What is even more admirable of Ikumi is that she was not really concerned about the possibility of being dethroned for causing a scandal.
No. She was more concerned about helping other women who are being stalked by dangerous individuals. To her
this was a type of goodwill towards fellow humans.
Unfortunately, International Culture Association thought differently, and since we're talking about real scandals,
there was nothing scandalous about a Ikumi's story.
You know what the real scandal is?
ICA
Enabling and empowering the Yakuza by shutting up their own reigning queen
And
there you have it - the four things I like about Miss International. Do you agree or disagree?
Comment below. If you're new to this channel, please subscribe and hit the bell below to receive instant notification for the next video and
don't forget to watch the Miss International 2019 pageant to be streamed live from Tokyo, Japan on November 12.
Who do you think will win?
Comment below.
Until the next time guys
Bye!