Who will become Okinawa’s next top model? You decide!

Every year in the height of summer, the MODECON Resort in Okinawa modeling competition takes place. The contest offers young women in Okinawa and Kyushu the opportunity to showcase themselves and their dreams online. Netizens meanwhile are offered the opportunity to vote for their favorite contestant. The finals are held in Okinawa where competition winners receive a most coveted prize for any aspiring model, their profile published in popular Japanese life and fashion magazine “mina” !

This year’s competition opened April 3rd and contestants have already been narrowed down from over 2000 applicants to a pool of 127 now competing in the semi-finals. With semi-final voting already underway until June 20th we’re going to tell you how you can cast your vote and make one of these charismatic young models to be’s dreams come true!

MODECON Resort in Okinawa Modelling Competition

MODECON Resort in Okinawa is an annual modelling contest for young women aged 16 - 29 from Okinawa, and Kyūshū, Japan’s southernmost main island. The contest is sponsored by KIRINZ Co. Ltd, a company specializing in marketing towards female university students, and Next Produce Co., Ltd, an event management and PR company.

The contest attracts a lot of interest each year from aspiring models and young women hoping to become social media influencers. Previous year’s contests have reached over 380 million users on social media according to MODECON’s website, meaning getting even as far as the semi finals pool is great PR for participants. Check out the promotional video on MODECON’s website.

The 2020 Participants

MODECON received over 2000 online applications, 127 of which passed the first round document screening. The current pool of 127, consists of women from all walks of life, including business people, University and high school students, singers, etc. According to MODECON, the number of entrants with modelling experience is extremely high this year!

In spite of the glut of such professionals, ultimately the public decides which of the 127 get through to the finals. Readers can view a selection of contestants' photographs, along with biographies that showcase their individuality on “MODECON’s website.

The biographies includes information on the contestants' future dreams, some of which include:

Announcer
Singer
Cabin Attendant
Doctor
Entrepreneur

It’s clear all the talented young women have bright futures ahead of them, but only 30 can be chosen to go through to the finals of MODECON. So how can you vote for your favorite?

How to vote for your favorite contestant

With only 30 spots available in the final, competition is indeed stiff. Finalists are selected based on a points system, and points can be earned in 3 ways which effectively equate to voting. The first place to start is MODECON’s website, where you can scroll through contestants profiles. Once you’ve chosen your champion, you can use the links on their profile to help them earn points in the following ways:

1. Online Voting

Netizens can vote for contestants once per day on “MODECON’s website. To vote, follow the link to the contestants page and click on to a contestants profiles page. The website is entirely in Japanese so to vote you need to click the button that says “投票・応援する” which means “Vote and Support”. You can vote for as many of the candidates as you like, one time per day, with one vote equal to 20 points.

2. Twitter Retweets

By retweeting your favorite contestants tweets along with #MODECON_Resort and #MixChannel, they will earn 20 points.

3. MixChannel App

The final voting method is using an application called MixChannel. MixChannel is a Japanese social media platform that lets users live stream videos. Until June 20th, MODECON contestants will be performing live on MixChannel. By viewing their live performances, contestants can also earn points for the MODECON competition. Not all contestants have a MixChannel but if they do, you can find a link to it in their profile on the main site. Follow them on MixChannel to view their videos and find out when they’re streaming.

That’s the voting methods, the only question remaining is who will you vote for? There’s still plenty of time until semi-final voting closes on Saturday June 20th. Empowered with social media, you can help to shape one of these talented young ladies futures.