The issue involving Tokyo Medical University's cutting of the number of successful female examinees has drawn international attention. Female students overseas have criticized the university, while some foreign media outlets see it as a systematic problem in Japan.
Cause for pause
"As a woman who aims to become a doctor, I am filled with resentment. It is absolutely wrong," said an angry Saya Speidel, 24, a fifth-year student at Charite, a medical institution in Berlin.
She participated in a protest rally held inside the Diet building on Aug. 10 during her summer break.
Speidel said about 60 percent of her classmates are women. A professor in the anesthesiology department under whom she studies is a woman with a child. The recent issue was also reported in Germany, and her classmates and teachers were surprised, asking her, "Just what is going on in Japan?"
Speidel has a German father and Japanese mother, and so she has wanted to obtain a doctor's license in both countries, but is now hesitant.
"In Japan, I could be at a disadvantage simply because I am female. I hope working environments for Japanese medical workers change so women can actively participate," she said.
An international story
Overseas media outlets have also shown interest in the issue. A Tokyo Medical University internal investigation committee released a report on Aug. 7 that confirms discrimination against female examinees. Reporters from overseas media outlets attended a press conference held by the university in Tokyo that same day.
In its electronic edition, the USA Today on Aug. 7 reported the story, linking it with the issue of long waiting lists for nursery schools in Japan.
An excerpt from the story read: "Japanese women are among the most educated in the world, with nearly 50 percent having college degrees, but about 70 percent -- according to media reports -- leave their jobs after having children because working Japan's long hours is no longer feasible, and a lack of adequate childcare."
The BBC also reported the issue on Aug. 8 in its electronic edition: "The story … has since sparked national outrage."
'Come to France'
The French Embassy in Japan said on Twitter on Aug. 2 that the percentage of women enrolling in its medical schools was 64.1 percent in 2016, adding that France likely will reach gender parity among doctors by 2021, and the country welcomes female students to come and study.
An embassy official said there are many women enrolling in medical schools in France, so the facility posted the tweet as a show of support to Japanese students.
Among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average number of female doctors is 44.8 percent, and as of 2014, Japan was at the lowest level among seven major industrialized countries at 20.4 percent.
The Finnish Embassy in Japan on Aug. 2 tweeted that Finland has the third-highest number at 57.2 percent, saying the country places an emphasis on "work-life balance by allowing flexible work schedules and delegating tasks to others who can do the work."
Ruriko Tsushima, an executive board member of the Japan Joint Association of Medical Professional Women, said: "Advanced countries spent decades advancing gender equality, but Japan has not caught up with them at all. I've seen many female doctors harassed at the workplace after getting pregnant and giving birth. It is also strange that male doctors are forced to work for long hours.
"The issue is not limited to medical workers. How can we create working conditions in which everyone can work without undue worries? We should take advantage of the latest issue to think about it."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
