PENANG, 30 March 2018 – An actress well-known as ‘Mikan’ in the TV comedy series ‘Jenaka Kampung Kalut (JKK)’ made her first appearance in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) today and shared her experiences being an actress as well as the new Miss Universe Japan (MUJ) 2018.

The actress, Yuumi Kato, 22, was recently crowned as MUJ 2018, defeating another 36 finalists.

“I was very surprised and was not expecting to be crowned as MUJ, but I did my best during the competition,” she said in an exclusive interview session at USM by USM student, Nabella Ridhuan Lau. 

“My advice to all is to be passionate in whatever we do, don’t give up and be yourself,” said Yuumi, who can speak four languages which are Japanese, English, Malay and Chinese. 

Yuumi was born in Nagoya Japan and later raised by her parents in Selangor, Malaysia from 5 to 13 years old. From the age of 15-18, she went to Matsuo-Ryu (tea ceremony organization) in Japan to study Japanese traditional culture and tea servings. Then at the age of 19, she started her modelling career on her own and is currently attached to Central Japan Model Agency.

There were about 30 students and staff at the interview session. They had the opportunity to take ‘selfies’ and ‘wefies’ and also being entertained with a Malay Traditional Dance by USM Student Buddies, with a special appearance by Yuumi.

Also present were the Consul-General from Consulate General of Japan in Penang, Nakagawa Kosuke; Director, Research Creativity and Management Office (RCMO) USM, Professor Dr. Lee Keat Teong and Director of KUFS-USM Japanese Centre, Masatoshi Soeda.

Text: Nor Rafizah Md Zain