The organization of Miss Universe Japan is all hosted the coronation ceremony for the 2021 edition of the pageant on 22nd September 2021 in Tokyo, where Juri Watanabe was crowned Miss Universe Japan 2021. She succeeded Miss Universe Japan 2020 Aisha Harumi Tochigi for the title.
The 26-year-old did her graduation in International Development Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is also pursuing an MBA from Quantic. Juri was born in Japan and studied in China and the United States. Having been treated as an outsider most of her life, Watanabe struggled with her mental health early on. She now strives to destigmatise mental health issues by bringing awareness and making mental health care more accessible and affordable.
Throughout her experiences she has realized the identity is not something we are born with but it is something that is fluid and changes over time. Through the Miss Universe platform, she hopes to bring awareness to the idea that we can come from different backgrounds but still share a common experience and to help others out there who face similar struggles.