TOKYO (TR) – Celebrity Yui Takano was last week named the winner of the inaugural “Best Hips Contest” among a field of five other finalists, reports Modelpress (Mar. 30).
At a ceremony held in the capital on Thursday, Takano, 23, was judged to have the best “high-position hips with volume” in the contest whereby the contestants trained with professionals from fitness chain Rizap, a sponsor of the event, over a two-month period.
Takano, a former member of pop idol group NMB48, said she had not been confident about having low-position hips in the past. “I was thinking about going to the gym anyway, so I decided to participate [in this contest] because I thought it wouldn’t be good if I missed this opportunity,” she said.
The other finalists in the event were gravure idols Sae Kanzaki and Hanami Natsume, Instagram models Isari and Natsuha Maeyama, and model Yuki Higashiguchi.
Takano, currently a television personality, was unsure she would succeed after she moved on to the final stage because she liked to eat, but she “was imagining how I’d be after I changed” and was “happy that I could see the changes with my own eyes.”
“I’m more confident about my butt now,” the former idol said. “The line that forms when I wear pants is prettier.”
Takano left NMB48, a sister group to AKB48, in 2015, saying at the time that she wished to pursue a career as a commentator on variety shows. Now, she hopes to broaden .
“I hope to appear on sports programs and take on work that uses my body,” the former idol said. “Once I train more and become even more confident, I want to wear clothes I like and wear swimsuits in the summer.”