Japanese local governments have started scrapping or reforming events such as "beauty pageants" to select promotional tourism envoys, a sign of changing times of more people wishing to freely express themselves, regardless of age, gender or background.Many beauty contests were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, but with their resumption, there has been a renewal of formats emphasizing diversity that speak to a city's or town's individual characteristics.For instance, the Isesaki Tourism & Products Association, located in Gunma Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, altered the title of it…READ FULL ARTICLE
