MANILA, Philippines — Filipina-Japanese Yuki Sonoda finished as second runner-up at the recently concluded Miss Universe Japan 2020.
Aisha Harumi Tochigi was crowned Miss Universe Japan and will compete against the Philippines’ bet Rabiya Mateo at this year’s Miss Universe pageant.
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Yuki's mother is Filipina while her father is Japanese.
"My father is Japanese and my mother is Filipina, so I was raised in two countries. So when I came to Japan, I really did not speak any Japanese word so I had a hard time. But I didn't give up. Because of this, I can now speak three languages fluently and this became my power," she said in her video bio for the pageant.
In the competition, she raised her advocacy regarding women's health awareness after she had an ovarian cyst surgery last year.
“During that time, I realized that I could have prevented this by having an annual check-up. I’d like to use my platform as Miss Universe to tell everyone in the world how important it is to be healthy and use my language skills to be the voice of the people,” she said.
Apart from the Miss Universe Japan 2020, Yuki also joined major beauty pageants in Japan such as the Miss World Japan 2015 and Miss Supranational Japan 2016. She was also crowned Miss Asia Pacific Japan 2017 and finished Top 10 at the Miss Asia Pacific International 2017.