The education ministry on Friday began a probe into entrance exams at university medical departments after Tokyo Medical University admitted to unfairly lowering the scores of women applicants to curb their enrollment.
The ministry also announced that it will set up a team of experts to look into its own employees' compliance with rules in the wake of arrests of senior officials in graft scandals linked to the same university.
The rigging of scores at Tokyo Medical University was "extremely inappropriate and a serious matter that eroded trust in universities," education minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a news conference.