Riyo Mori

Name: Riyo Mori
Chinese Name: 森理世
Country: Japan
Profession: Ballet Dancer
Trivia: Miss Universe 2007

Riyo Mori, a 20-year-old ballet dancer from Shizuoka Prefecture, has been chosen to represent Japan in the Miss Universe Competition, after earning top place in a final screening session on Thursday.

Mori will represent Japan in the world competition to be held in Mexico at the end of May.

The Miss Universe contest started in 1952. In the 1953 contest, Japanese model Kinuko Ito snared third place, and in 1959 the Miss Universe title went to Japan’s Akiko Kojima. More recently, Kurara Chibana took second place for Japan in the 2006 contest.

Other representatives for Japan include actress Hisako Manda in 1978 and photographer Mineko Orisaku in 1981.

The selection event on Thursday went ahead with a show under the theme “Casino Finale,” and 11 candidates appeared on stage wearing short dresses. In the swimsuit judging section, the models danced as they took off fur coats, showing off hot La Perla swimsuits.

In the final judging section between five remaining candidates, the models, dressed in Class Roberto Cavalli evening dresses, promoted themselves in front of judges including Bobby Valentine, the manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines baseball team, and model Jessica Michibata.

Prior to the announcement of the winner, last year’s representative Kurara Chibana gave a performance in the image of a Bond girl from the 007 series.

As Mori was handed the winning title, she threw out her arms and said “Thank you.” She appeared teary-eyed as she received a tiara from Chibana.

“If you believe in yourself and try hard, you’ll get results. The dancing that I’ve done over the 16 years since I was 4 has been a source of self-confidence for me,” she said.

Chibana offered the 20-year-old a word of encouragement, saying, “I’m praying that you’ll become No. 1 in the world.”

The runner up in Thursday’s selection was Rei Hamada, 22, while third place went to 25-year-old model Akiko Chubachi. (Mainichi)

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