A Tokyo medical school apologized Tuesday after an internal investigation confirmed that it systematically altered entrance exam scores for years to limit the number of female students and ensure more men became doctors.

Tokyo Medical University manipulated all entrance exam results starting in 2000 or even earlier, according to findings released Tuesday by lawyers involved in the investigation, confirming recent reports in Japanese media.

The school said the manipulation should not have occurred and would not in the future, and it will consider retroactively admitting those who otherwise would have passed the exams, although it did not explain how it would do so.

The manipulation was revealed during an investigation of the alleged wrongful admission of a bureaucrat鈥檚 son in exchange for favourable treatment for the school in a ministry project. The bureaucrat and the former head of the school have been charged with bribery.

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The investigation found that last year the school reduced all applicants鈥� first-stage test scores by 20 per cent and then added up to 20 points for male applicants, and that similar manipulations had taken place for years. It said the school wanted fewer female doctors because it anticipated they would shorten or halt their careers after becoming mothers.

鈥淲e sincerely apologize for the serious wrongdoing involving entrance exams that has caused concern and trouble for many people and betrayed the public鈥檚 trust,鈥� school managing director Tetsuo Yukioka said. He denied any previous knowledge of the score manipulation and said he was never involved.

鈥淚 suspect that there was a lack of sensitivity to the rules of modern society, in which women should not be treated differently because of their gender,鈥� he said.

Yukioka said women were not treated differently once they were accepted, but acknowledged that some people even believed women were not allowed to become surgeons.

Nearly 50 per cent of Japanese women are college educated 鈥� one of the world鈥檚 highest levels 鈥� but they often face discrimination in the workforce. Women also are considered responsible for homemaking, childrearing and elderly care, while men are expected to work long hours and outside care services are limited.

Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press

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