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Finalists Announced in "Japan's Cutest High School Girl" Contest

Miss Con, a competition to crown Japan's cutest high school girl held by Model Press, announced its finalists on December 19. The contest is held throughout Japan, and one finalist and one semi-finalist were chosen for each of six Japanese regions (Hokkaidō/Tōhoku, Kantō, Chūbu, Kinki (Kansai), Chūgoku/Shikoku, and Kyūshū/Okinawa).

Hokkaidō and Tōhoku's finalists: Misaki and Aopi

Kyūshū and Okinawa's finalists: Mayu and Akirapyon

Chūgoku and Shikoku's finalists: Reo-chan and Momo

Kinki's finalists: Sakuten and Aachun

Chūbu's finalists: Succhan and Rikopin

Kantō's finalists: Hasumin and Ayatamu

The finalists express their surprise, gratitude, joy, and/or anticipation.

Entries for the contest were submitted via Shirayuki photo booths from July 1 to September 23. Along with the finalists from a previous Miss Con covering the Kantō area (Japan's most populous region) exclusively, they will be judged at a final event on March 22 at Shibuya's Hikarie Hall. The winners will be appointed PR ambassadors and appear widely on TV and magazines, as well as be assigned to major talent agencies.

A Japanese variety show, News na Bansankai, earlier compared Miyu Sakurai, "Kansai's cutest girl," with Yumi Yamamoto, "Kantō's prettiest girl," and arranged an in-person meeting. The girls concluded that Sakurai was cuter and more of a high-schooler while Yamamoto was thinner, taller and more adult. The producers then conducted a street poll in Nagoya (in between the two regions) to see whether cuteness or prettiness was more favored. Sakurai won, 72 to 28.

Model Press has also held contests to determine Kantō's best-looking high school boy.

[Via Model Press]