Women account for a record 25.8 percent of those who passed the exam for career-track public servants in fiscal 2017, the National Personnel Authority said Friday.
Of 20,591 applicants, only 1,878 passed, with the ratio for woman edging up 0.3 percentage point on year to its highest since fiscal 1960, when comparable data became available, the authority said.
A National Personnel Authority official credited the rise to "the government's effort to recruit and promote more women, leading to a rise in the number of female applicants."
After going through further screenings, including interviews, about 720 people are expected to be hired next April.
The number of successful exam takers, however, fell 133 from the previous year as ministries and agencies slashed recruiting volume to take into account the volume of civil servants who are retiring.
By university, graduates from the University of Tokyo led the pack with 372 successful applicants, followed by Kyoto University with 182, Waseda University with 123, Osaka University with 83 and Hokkaido University with 82.