Miss Universe Japan organization took to their official social media to reveal the National Costume that Marybelen Sakamoto will be showcasing at the Miss Universe 2022 stage. Marybelen is currently preparing for her international stint which will begin in January next year.

The national costume that Marybelen Sakamoto will be wearing has a design that features origami cranes as a motif to send a message of peace from Japan, the only country in the world to have suffered atomic bombings.

Many people, including the governor of Nagasaki Prefecture, cooperated with the paper cranes aiming for sustainability by reusing old kimonos. A crane folded by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was also used in the costume as Sakamoto met the Prime Minister on 13th of December 2022.

Sakamoto quoted, "The theme of the costume is 1,000 paper cranes. I can feel the weight of the cranes that everyone has folded. The world is unstable, but I hope that the cranes, which are the symbol of peace, will give people an opportunity to reconsider peace."

Miss Universe 2022, the 71st Miss Universe pageant, will be held at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States on 14th January 2023. Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu of India will crown her successor at the end of the event finale.