Women have been prohibited from doing many things for as long as civilisation has existed. However, in the recent times, we have been trying as much to progress and redefined equality. Restrictions are still common! And Japan is one of the countries which continues to confine women to trying to find their place in any male-dominated profession. It might not be surprising to the Japanese citizens, but a recent government survey reveals that female students were less likely to be accepted at most the country’s medical school. It appears that the colleges deliberately admits more men. If we quote the number, more men passed entrance exams than women at nearly 80 per cent of all the medical schools. Being a Single Mother in Japan is not Easy! While World is Becoming Progressive, Women in the Most Developed Country are Suffering. 

According to the report, 81 medical schools were surveyed which shows men have qualified in the entrance test more than women at 63 schools over the past six years. While, on the other hand, female candidates surpassed such exams than men at 17 schools. According to The Japan Times, the rates of successful male applicants to female is 1.67 at Juntendo University, 1.54 at Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University and Showa University. The average rate of all the 81 schools stood at 1.18.

Kenji Yasuda, a senior executive of educational information company Daigaku Tsushin, said that the results show the possibility of some ‘adjustment’ being made to enrol more men than women. The scandal has cast a shadow over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s aim to draw more females into management positions in all fields.

It must be noted that the 81 medical schools include Tokyo Medical University. Yes, just a few days ago, an internal investigation found that the school had been lowering women’s test scores for at least a decade. Some male students even got bonus points to boost their scores. After the shocking revelations, the authorities apologised publicly, and it caused an outrage throughout the country.

Excluding Tokyo Medical University, none of the universities surveyed said that it had ever discriminated against applicants on the basis of gender or age. Interestingly, the colleges said that the women candidates found the math and physics questions on entrance exams difficult, which lowers their grade prohibiting them to secure seats in the medical schools. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is at present investigating and will send additional questionnaires before releasing its analysis in October this year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 05, 2018 04:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).