TOKYO — A Japanese medical university that acknowledged systematically discriminating against female applicants announced plans Wednesday to accept more than 60 who were unfairly rejected over the past two years.
The discriminatory policy at Tokyo Medical University surfaced earlier this year, triggering national anger. The school acknowledged in August that it has been reducing female applicants’ entrance exam scores for years to keep the numbers of female students low. They said women tend to quit as doctors after starting families, causing staffing shortages at a school-affiliated hospital.
The university said it will offer to enroll 67 female applicants who were eliminated because of the manipulation.
University President Yukiko Hayashi apologized for the school’s discriminatory policy.
“We will conduct fair entrance exams and never let the inappropriate practice be repeated,” she said. “Nobody should be discriminated against because of gender.”
In Japan, women are still considered responsible for homemaking, child-rearing and elderly care, while men are expected to work long hours.
The scandal prompted speculation that other medical schools also follow similar practices.
Hayashi, who became university president in September after her predecessor’s resignation over a bribery allegation that led to exposure of the exam manipulation, said she was shocked by the large number of women who were denied entry.