Miss Japan, Maiko Itai
There are several unusual things about this year’s Miss Japan: Maiko Itai speaks English AND Portuguese fluently. She learned Portugese at Sophia University in Tokyo while living in a dorm with students from all over the world. Maiko Itai also happens to be a civil servant who worked for the city hall of Oita Prefecture where she is from. She resigned last December to join the Miss Japan beauty pageant.
What gave her the edge above the 4,000-plus girls who sent in their applications to Miss Japan? Maiko Itai believes it was her long, ‘un-japanese’ legs and fluency in languages.
Japan has been kicking butt in the Miss Universe in recent years with 2007 Miss Universe winner Riyo Mori, 2006 1st Runner-up Kurara Chibana and 2008 Miss Universe finalist Hiroko Mima. Thanks to Frenchwoman Ines Ligron who has been helping Japan discover and develop it’s winners in recent years.
Will Maiko Itai catch the eye of Donald Trump this year and bring home the Miss Universe 2010 crown? No one can tell, specially after last year’s disappointing non-inclusion of Asian beauties in the semi-finals roster.
Maiko Itai’s interests and hobbies (aside from the aforementioned languages) include arts and achitecture and traveling with her grandfather’s camera. It was Maiko’s grandmother, on the other hand who influenced her to join Miss Japan. At age 78, Grandma Itai still runs her own hair salon!
Another interesting thing about Maiko Itai – she lives in a 200-year-old Samurai house built in the Edo era. She is very proud of it because it strongly influenced her to understand Japan and it’s culture.
Click here to find out just how interesting this 5’8″ Japanese beauty queen is in an in-depth interview she had with David Natanawan of Critical Beauty…
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