Women overtook men for the first time in the acceptance rate at Japan's medical schools for the 2021 academic year that started in April, an education ministry survey showed Wednesday, in a sign of improvement over gender-based discrimination in entrance examinations that came to light a few years ago.
The average exam pass rate for women at the country's 81 universities with a medical faculty stood at 13.60% against men's 13.51%, marking the first time women surpassed men in the rate since comparable data became available in the 2013 academic year.
The results come after a string of exam-rigging scandals surfaced in 2018 including that of Tokyo Medical University, which admitted to score manipulation to limit female enrollment. The revelation eventually prompted a government probe into entrance exams at medical schools.