Hello Ines,

To introduce myself, my name is Rika Takuno. I am currently 17 years old and I just finished competing in the Miss Universe Japan 2011 Finalist Audition.

Unfortunately, I didn’t make it into the 15 finalists for this year but it was a really great experience for me. Being the youngest out of all semifinalists allowed me to interact with older beautiful women and I was really happy to meet Japanese women who have a dream.

The reason why I am sending this message is because I wanted to let you know that I am really thankful that you made MUJ popular in Japan. By doing so, I think it has let myself and many other women who have attended the audition to see our inner beauty and the importance to be confident in ourselves.

The reason why I have auditioned for MUJ this was because I wanted to meet you. I wanted to meet the woman who was strong enough to change how Japanese women think about themselves. Since I have been attending an International School since I was 3 years old and left to Florida when I was 15 to pursue my dream as a professional tennis player, I understand how it was probably really hard for you to work in Japan since it still is a male dominated society.

But I just really wanted to say thank you so much for being able to change how women in Japan think about themselves and I really think you are an amazing person! I really hope I have the chance to meet you soon:)

Ricky Taco

Thank you Ricky foryour kind words. i wish you all the best in your life!