Tag Archives: Tokyo

Gender

Japan News | Women

Medical university in Tokyo found to have altered women candidates’ scores on entrance exam
  • A probe found that Tokyo Medical University, one of Japan’s most prestigious medical schools, systematically boosted male applicants’ scores while cutting female applicants’ in an effort to reduce women’s admission to the school.
  • Investigators discovered that scores on the exam had been affected for at least a decade, driven by admissions officers’ belief that parental obligations would interfere with women’s commitment to the profession.
  • The discovery was found amidst a broader investigation into corruption involving the alleged admission of a government official’s child in exchange for subsidies.
Read

“Tokyo Medical University admits subtracting points from repeat male applicants’ scores and boosting others to secure donations” (The Japan Times | August 2018)

“‘Makes me shake with rage’ – Japan probe shows university cut women’s test scores” (Reuters | August 2018)

“‘Betrayed’: victims of Tokyo medical school scandal speak out” (The Guardian | August 2018)

Nationality + Migration

Japan News | British

Tokyo theater scene sees rise in British directors this season
  • Directors like Thom Southerland, Phillip Breen, Max Webster, and Robin Herford reflect an internationalization of the directing scene, bringing such productions as Titanic, Orpheus Descending, Mary Stuart, and The Woman in Black to the stage.
  • Although producers and directors indicate the trend is largely accidental, they note that as theaters increasingly show international plays, the desire to work with foreign directors intimately familiar with the histories contained in such work has increased.
  • The directors themselves have found ease in working with Japanese actors and note that such internationalization trends are on the rise back in Europe as well.

“Of course our scope to select directors is much greater in today’s global world with information instantly available on our computers. So now there’s no reason not to expand our options to engage with new talent outside Japan.”

Read the full story at the Japan Times.

(Image Credit: Shinji Hosono/Japan Times)