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Tokyo Medical School Lowered Entrance-Exam Scores to Keep Women Out

In order to keep a 70/30 male-to-female ratio.

Tokyo Medical University deducted points from the entrance-exam scores earned by all female applicants to keep the ratio of women studying at the school at about 30 percent, The Japan Times reports. The university deducted 10 to 20 percent of the points scored by female applicants, sources told the newspaper. The practice was apparently aimed at avoiding a shortage of doctors at affiliated hospitals—the college believed female doctors often resign or take leave after getting married or giving birth. The entrance-exam bias came to light during an internal probe by the university’s lawyers following a bribery scandal that saw its two top officials resign after offering a bureaucrat’s son an enrollment in exchange for a government subsidy. An education ministry official in charge of entrance exams said: “If the university did not disclose the process and has been discriminating against applicants based on gender, that would be a problem.” A university spokesperson said Thursday that the school will conduct an investigation into the allegations.