Bright and vivacious young women are in great demand as TV announcers. For many in Japan, the stepping stone to a career in broadcast news has been the annual Miss Keio contest, held during the autumn festival at the nation’s most prestigious private university: Keio, in Tokyo’s Minato Ward.
But earlier this month, the pageant’s organizer, the 92-year-old Keio Advertisement Society, posted the following announcement on its website: “This year’s Miss Keio contest activities … have been cancelled as a result of punitive measures by the university, due to the occurrence of an unfortunate incident that betrayed everyone’s expectations. As a group, we have reflected deeply upon this. … We extend our apologies to the six finalists. We are truly sorry.”
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