Ikumi Yoshimatsu, 2012 winner of the Miss International contest, filed criminal charges this month against one of Japan's most powerful talent agency executives, Genichi Taniguchi, for allegedly stalking and harassing her. The result: the management of the pageant, The International Culture Association, ordered her to skip the succession ceremony and "play sick and shut up" out of fear of scandal.
She did not attend the ceremony; she did speak out.
After The Japan Times and the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine reported on her plight, she received an outpouring of worldwide sympathy and support.