The freshly-crowned Miss Japan has relinquished her title after it was reported that she had an affair with a married man.
Ukraine-born Karolina Shiino, 26, held her title for just two weeks before a local magazine alleged she had the affair.
The Shukan Bunshun reported that Ms Shiino had an affair with a married doctor and influencer.
Initially, the Miss Japan Association stood by Ms Shiino, insisting she did not know the man was married.
But, on Monday, the organisers revealed that she has now confessed this is untrue and resigned.
Ms Shiino said: "I am truly sorry for the huge trouble I have caused and for betraying those who supported me.”
She explained that she had lied out of fear and panic.
The scandal follows an initial race row surrounding Ms Shiino’s title, as some believed the woman of European descent did not represent traditional Japanese beauty standards.
Ms Shiino moved to Japan with her mother when she was five years old, took on her stepfather’s last name and became a naturalised citizen in 2022.
She has two Ukrainian parents but emigrated when her mother remarried. She grew up in Nagoya and has lived in the country for more than 20 years.
At the time she was crowned Ms Japan, she said: "I had not been accepted as Japanese many times, but I am filled with gratitude to have been recognised as Japanese today.
"I’ve had to face barriers that often prevent me from being accepted as Japanese," she added in her speech in Tokyo.
She said she was Japanese from both "speech and mind" and aims to help create a society where "people are not judged by their appearance".
Ai Wada, the organiser of the pageant, said after the announcement that it "gave us an opportunity to rethink what Japanese beauty is".
It is not the first time the Miss Japan contest has stirred up controversy in the country.
In 2015, Ariana Miyamoto became the first biracial woman to be crowned Miss Japan.
She was born to a Japanese woman and her father was African American. At the time questions were raised over the crowning of a mixed race person at the pageant.
The man involved in the affair has made no public comment.
