AKIPRESS.COM - A half-Indian woman has been crowned Miss Japan, the second year in a row a biracial person has won the beauty pageant, according to BBC.

Priyanka Yoshikawa, 22 and who also has an elephant training license, said she would use her win to "change perceptions".

Last year's Miss Japan, Ariana Miyamoto was the first mixed-race person to win the pageant.

Critics complained then that a "pure" Japanese should have won.

Only about 2% of babies born every year in Japan are biracial, or "haafu", the Japanese word for half.

"We are Japanese," Yoshikawa said. "Yes, my dad is Indian and I'm proud of it, I'm proud that I have Indian in me. But that doesn't mean I'm not Japanese."

She credited her win to Miyamoto, saying she had helped show "mixed girls the way".

"Before Ariana, haafu girls couldn't represent Japan," said Yoshikawa. "That's what I thought too. Ariana encouraged me a lot by showing me and all mixed girls the way... I know a lot of people who are haafu and suffer," she said. "When I came back to Japan, everyone thought I was a germ."

Yoshikawa is, however, being criticized for having an Indian father and some Indians have taken to social media to advise the Japanese to "get over it". One Twitter user said she won because she "must have deserved it", while another said "after Gautam Buddha, Ms. Yoshikawa is the only Indian to make it big in Japan".

In Yoshikawa's case, the biggest complaint seems to be the "lack of purity". But some are wondering whether this debate over purity has any relevance in today's globalized world.