Ministry report: Unfair admissions suspected at several universities

the-japan-news.com -- Oct 24

Unfair admissions are suspected at several universities in Japan, the education ministry said in an interim report on its emergency investigation on Tuesday.

The emergency probe was launched in August, in the wake of a high-profile admissions scandal involving Tokyo Medical University, which had manipulated entrance exam scores in favor of men and graduates’ children.

In the interim report, the ministry stopped short of clarifying the number of universities under suspicion or naming them, on the grounds that the probe is still under way.

“We have asked universities to voluntarily announce any unfair admission practices and take necessary action swiftly,” education minister Masahiko Shibayama told a press conference on the day. He also issued a message calling on all public and private universities to hold entrance examinations for fiscal 2019 in a fair and appropriate manner.

Besides Tokyo Medical University, Showa University has revealed that it bumped up scores for applicants who were in the final year of high school or had graduated from high school within a year, while Juntendo University is currently conducting an internal investigation on its possible misconduct.