Expert: Abe's 'womenomics' policy a complete failure

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02:35

A scandal has rocked Japan's education sector. Media reports suggest a leading medical university in the country systematically manipulated the scores of female candidates to drive up the proportion of male doctors at the institution.

Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun Daily said Tokyo Medical University had been doing so since 2011, and was looking to maintain a ratio of about one female to every two males. The exam score alterations were discovered during an internal investigation into graft allegations over entrance procedures.

The newspaper quoted university sources as saying the policy arose from the large number of female graduates who were quitting medicine early to start families.

The scandal has sparked a great outcry on Japanese social media. One comment, liked almost 30,000 times, said the case showed signs of the past.

“It’s a shame, and it’s against equal rights law,” said Dr. Liu Qingbin, research fellow at the Digital Economy Thinktank in Beijing, and professor at Yokohama National University.

He added that some Japanese think it is better for women to maintain traditional roles, such as being a housewife. Even if this move is against the law, it is still accepted socially. Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe has committed to boosting female participation in the workforce. There's even a term called "womenomics."

Liu said Abe want to seek economic growth by getting more women into workforce, but it looks like his policy is a complete failure.