These guys have a WHOLE festival based around it - and never seem to get any complaints over the term!
http://www.japfest.co.uk/
And if you applied that 'japfest' to a Japanese beauty contest?
Also, in the United States, where the word is far more unacceptable than in Europe it would be associated with bigotry far more...as I explained.
This also illustrates the difference between a word, like 'Jap' that was once acceptable and had no inherent racial slur that has over time and usage become to one extent or another a derogratory term and a word, like '****' that never had that acceptability and was from it's inception intended to be derogratory.