Society

After sexist flap, women overtake men in Japan med school acceptance

Jan 27 (Nikkei) - For what appears to be the first time, the acceptance rate for women has exceeded that for men at Japanese medical schools.

Among male applicants for medical programs at national, public and private universities, the overall acceptance rate was 13.51%, lower than the 13.6% for women, according to data from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

The share of universities reporting lower acceptance rates for women than men dropped drastically to 44% in fiscal 2021 from 67% the year before.

This marks a watershed moment in Japan's medical education history. Despite the growing ranks of aspiring female physicians, medical schools had long remained skeptical about women balancing work and family life as doctors.

Tokyo Medical University's practice of inflating entrance exam scores for the sons of Education Ministry bureaucrats came to light in 2018, and similar score manipulation practices at other medical universities were reported. In many cases, schools limited the admission of women and those who failed the exam many times in the past by giving their essays low marks.

Facing public outrage, the Education Ministry released gender breakdowns of those accepted to all college medical schools from fiscal 2013 through fiscal 2018. The plan after that was to release the breakdowns for universities that had admitted to score manipulation, but lawmakers argued successfully for releasing all data from fiscal 2019 and onward.

Do Bears Prefer Acorns or Berries?

Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper Thieves Target Japanese Shrines

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

1200-Year-Old Temple on Miyajima Reduced to Ashes

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

From Bento Boxes to Garbage Bags, Rising Costs Hitting Daily Life Across Japan

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

Tochigi Robbery-Murder Suspect’s Wife Posted Dance Videos on Social Media

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Garbage Burnoff Spreads to 3 Buildings in Okayama

A fire that broke out in Kagamino, Okayama Prefecture, shortly after noon on May 20th destroyed three buildings, including a home, after flames from open burning spread to dead leaves and then to nearby structures.

Gang Members Arrested After Opening Office Near Nursery

Six people, including a senior member of a group affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai crime syndicate's Kohei-ikka faction, have been arrested on suspicion of opening a gang office in a prohibited area near a nursery school in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward.

Six Police Officers Injured After Man Sprays Liquid at Station

A man who visited a police station in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in the early hours of May 21st allegedly sprayed a transparent liquid inside the building, causing six police officers to complain of eye and throat pain and be taken to hospital with minor injuries.