9 more med schools involved in misconduct after another admits exam rigging

everyone has the same opportunity to make, it as long as you're part of the good old boy Network

Eight universities have already revealed misconduct on their own and St. Marianna University School of Medicine said Wednesday that while it is under the ministry's probe it has not committed any misconduct.

Is this writer of this article trying to infer that St. Marianna is truly in fact guilty of misconduct?

Otherwise why add this information about this particular school and not name outright any other schools that are "under the ministry's probe", There are 81 involved in the probe, so why identify this one alone as saying it did nothing wrong. Are the other's in the 81 ALL guilty?

If they are in fact "clean" the inference or attempt to connect it to other school's that are in fact guilty is rather slanderous in my opinion!

Another one. Jesus, maybe they should report on just the schools that haven't rigged their tests. Get this never ending scandal done with.

Another one. Jesus, maybe they should report on just the schools that haven't rigged their tests. Get this never ending scandal done with.

Problem is that this is the "season" where HS kids are burning the midnight oil for the dreaded "center test" in mid-January. Those test scores, and their applications, will "make or break" them on getting into medical school's or any universities of note here.

This probe SHOULD be thoroughly done, and schools that are "clean" should be noted as well!

Hence my previous comment about naming a school, outright, even though it hasnt been found guilty of anything. People will think it's guilty by association just because it was openly named and all the others were not.

No problem! They are all private medical schools. They can have their own policies. Do not interfere. Accepting them as students of medical schools and whether they can become doctors passing national examinations are two different things. They should decline subsidies from the government. I hear famous American colleges like Harvard also accept students who donate a lot of money to the colleges.

No problem! They are all private medical schools.

Not all are private, and like any other university here in Japan, they receive funding from the national government to survive, so there is a HUGE problem if they have unethical or illegal entrance practices.

People have lost their careers for trying to get their son's or daughters into universities here using a "backdoor" envelope full of cash!

They should decline subsidies from the government.

The can't because then they wouldnt exist, and there should be no comparison to US schools, many of which depend upon corporate donations to survive, here there is no such cooperation and ALL universities NEED the government funding or they will be forced to close!

Thank god my daughter will be going to university abroad, bypassing the stupid exam culture entirely. Even if it weren't rigged, it's such a warped approach to education.

I don't work in education, but could someone who does tell me why the universities adjust scores of alumnis' kids upward and do not simply admit them on "suisen"? Why is it necessary to do it this way? One in three students in the UK now get in on an unconditional offer, not exam results, and you'd have to be naive in the extreme to think this does not create bias toward posh schools.

Marking down women and ronin is of course completely unacceptable. Marking down ronin should not be treated lightly because it biases Japan towards an infantile society where you get one chance at 18 and that's it. Universities should be for all ages. I bet they prefer 18 year olds because the professors, tutors, etc. can talk down to them.

List just getting longer.

Nihon University, Tokyo Medical University, Juntendo University, Showa University, Fukuoka University, Kobe University, Iwate Medical University, Kanazawa Medical University and Kitasato University.

Forget medical school if you are a female applicant who have failed past exams a couple of times and neither of your parents is a med school graduate.

Marking down ronin should not be treated lightly because it biases Japan towards an infantile society where you get one chance at 18 and that's it.

I'd say it starts much earlier than 18. Go to the wrong JHS and your prospects from the age of 12 on are pretty much shot. I know professors in the US who got their PhD in their 40s and work at top ranking universities. In Japan, if mommy and daddy can't afford to send you to a top juku from the 4th grade of elementary school, you are by and large viewed as an educational misfit, on the wrong track and destined for a life of pitied mediocrity.

Again, that these kids go through this absurd, childhood-killing experience for nearly a decade only to be robbed in the end....

Why should not private colleges accept students who earnestly want to enter the colleges? They are fans of the schools and they will become strong supporters of the colleges after graduations while graduates of famous national colleges like Tokyo University do not appear to have strong attachment to the colleges after graduations because they only entered Tokyo University from their own selfish reasons to get successes in the society.

SchopenhauerToday 08:09 am JST

Why should not private colleges accept students who earnestly want to enter the colleges?

Failing to meet the required academic standard is the usual reason.

They are fans of the schools and...

So what you're basically saying is that exam rigging is okay?

What it the real bottom line..... you may get sub-standard Doctors, because if they've compromised on entry, they may also be compromising on Graduation too. So... what to do? Investigate any Doctor you are referred to or go to before you say yes to any critical operation you might need.

Simon Foston

Private colleges in Japan are generally receivers of students who failed entrance exams of national colleges.

SaikoPhysco

To become doctors, they have to pass difficult national exams after graduating medical schools and the national exams are not rigged.

I'd say it starts much earlier than 18. Go to the wrong JHS and your prospects from the age of 12 on are pretty much shot. I know professors in the US who got their PhD in their 40s and work at top ranking universities. In Japan, if mommy and daddy can't afford to send you to a top juku from the 4th grade of elementary school, you are by and large viewed as an educational misfit, on the wrong track and destined for a life of pitied mediocrity.

Exactly. For a nation that views its own people as its greatest resource, it certainly squanders a lot of potential. How many people with degrees end up pouring tea for old men, or other menial (or meaningless) jobs, in Japan. Sad part is, a lot of these people have the drive to contribute so much more, but are held down from incompetence and corruption from the top tiers.

If you expect Tokyo University Medical School where Japan's top notch students gather is most reliable, go to Tokyo University Hospital and meet arrogant doctors. There, doctors are first and patients second or third. You will have very miserable experiences.

Always uneasy visiting a doctor in Japan now I know why, they are a doctor because their dad and grandad were, not because they have any aptitude or skill.

I guess it's not only happening at Med schools. So many people cheated out of a good future. No wonder this country NEVER advances.

So what you're basically saying is that exam rigging is okay?

I'm happy someone understands his point. How it speaks to the issue at hand is beyond me.

But no prison. Peoples lives, depression, maybe even suicide?

SchopenhauerToday 08:28 am JST

Simon Foston

Private colleges in Japan are generally receivers of students who failed entrance exams of national colleges.

SaikoPhysco

To become doctors, they have to pass difficult national exams after graduating medical schools and the national exams are not rigged.

That doesn't really answer my question at all, but if we join the dots it appears that private colleges will admit students with insufficient academic skills, take their money, and then when they graduate they are unlikely to be able to pass the difficult national exams. Sounds like a major rip-off to me.

I can attest, from personal experience, that this practice is most definitely NOT limited to medical exams. Exam rigging is a widespread practice in Japan - that's why the results of an exam are usually not revealed. Yet another facet of Japan where corruption goes unchallenged.

JoeintokyoToday 09:01 am JST

To become doctors, they have to pass difficult national exams after graduating medical schools and the national exams are not rigged.

True, but there still seems to be a lot of iffy doctors in Japan. Possible this difficult national exam needs to be made more difficult.

Or they could just do away with national exams and make a medical degree the only academic prerequisite for getting the job. The idea of studying for four years, passing final exams and then having to do more exams just sounds dumb.

-National Medical Practitioners Qualifying Examination (NMPQE) pass rate: average for universities over 90%

A good deal of this is about having a rich daddy-doctor. You either get a legacy admission to a weak private school or your family can pay enough (meritocracy!) to assure your selection. So no matter how dumb junior is he too can become a medical practitioner and inherit your family hospital or clinic. When I first arrived here people were always talking about being sure you knew where a doctor or dentist went to school before you visited a clinic. Ask your average Japanese about where Dr. so and so graduated from and they all know the answer. Coming from the US, where it's just generally assumed that doctors are competent and properly educated, whether they went to a state school or Johns Hopkins, I thought it sounded extremely snobby. Now I know it's a sound approach to gaining competent medical care.

Which is why this scandal is so maddening. These young women busted their rump and should have gained admission but the institutions involved, as well as the medical industry writ large (of course with some exceptions) would prefer men in white jackets to women, regardless of their qualifications.

High schools do the same. Girls by typically being more mature just make better students but schools want balanced classrooms. The bar for girls is higher from a very young age. Everyone knew this was standard practice and it still is.

Many here are saying foreign doctors are a lot better than Japanese doctors. I feel like going to other countries to meet good doctors and receive good medications if they are not too expensive. Can I trust your opinions?

Grade fiddling is commonplace in all levels of Japanese schooling. I cannot count the amount of times I've been told to make and easy test or to give the students bonus points to lift their averages. This is from junior high to college and university. It is not grading! It is creative accounting! You can bet these new schools being caught out are only a few of the real number of schools involved in score manipulation. This how they keep Japan Inc. going. They shuffle kids through school with little or no knowledge to become 'empty-shell yes-men' to be prepared for indoctrination into a company life of servitude. They don't want people who can think and are knowledgable. That would upset the 'wa' of the sempai/kohai system.

So these people that got in could be my current physicians. That’s really comforting. Did they also “pass” their medical board exams?

Old boys protecting old boys.

@Joeintokyo - The idea of having a standard, rigorous exam independent of any university, that measures medical competency seems to me a good thing.

Wow! Where is this parallel Japan you speak of? Have you ever been to see a doctor in Japan? The vast majority are very far from anything you described in the above statement.

Japan is full of quacks? Japanese are living longer than people of many other western countries including U.S.

I spoke to a student of mine who is a professor at a local public university. He said the same issue happens at their medical school - but that it is a secret and I should keep it quiet. lol

What punishment will these schools receive for their discrimination? None at all, that's what. No solutions have been proposed and after some apologies and "regrettables" they will continue doing exactly the same thing.

There should be a national entrance exam for medical schools. Medical schools can publicise in advance the score required for entry; any applicant who gets that score automatically gets a place. Any schools that wish to opt out from this should not receive any government funding.

Nepotism is everywhere and detrimental to society. It leads to or is a symptom of, decadence.

But not only in Japan also in my country Belgium where half or more of the politicians are sons and daughters off.. elected in by interest groups wanting to keep a status quo as their insurance to hang on to power.

And where a few families run the economy for decade after decade by well placed nephews and nieces. I have been given a fair chance in Japan and I took it and I return what I can to society. Only the theft of my 2 dogs, my brothers and the inaction by the legal system is what I can not accept so I am getting them back myself, in Japan.Point here being, yes, some people need to fight harder than others and more obstacles are placed in front of some people, but overcoming problems is a life long endeavour that only stops with dead.

There is always going to be nepotism and favoritisme, we don’t need to nag about it, but fight it. Count on no one, friends are people whom have not yet converted into enemies. Sad but just as true.

JoeintokyoToday  09:26 am JST

The idea of studying for four years, passing final exams and then having to do more exams just sounds dumb.

Sorry, I can't agree. The idea of having a standard, rigorous exam independent of any university, that measures medical competency seems to me a good thing.

Or universities could be obliged to meet particular national standards when devising exams, so that all degrees awarded have the same value and guarantee that all graduates have the same amount of knowledge and proficiency. Then again I suppose a lot of jobs depend on that otherwise pointless layer of bureaucracy.

A dentist nearly killed me a doctor had no idea what to do my daughter was given the answers for her test, it really isn't at all a modern functioning society.

My medical history is not accepted here. My partners history is not accepted in the UK. I edit papers and my partner works long hours. Point is that this problem is not just for students, but continues for all health professionals.

Or they could just do away with national exams and make a medical degree the only academic prerequisite for getting the job. The idea of studying for four years, passing final exams and then having to do more exams just sounds dumb.

welcome to Japans warped logic..

All of theses scandals of rigging and data manipulation are really hurting the credibility and reputation of Japan, can't the top brass see this?

Entrance exams should be banned.