Gradual Rise in Women Passing Professional National Examinations in Japan

According to data published by the Gender Equality Bureau of Japan’s Cabinet Office, 3,110 women passed the National Examination for Medical Practitioners, representing 33.7% of all successful candidates. In other national examinations, 389 (27.7%) women passed the National Bar Examination, 327 (22.5%) the Certified Public Accountant Examination, and 60 (31.1%) the Patent Attorney Examination.

The chart below shows the change in percentages of women who passed national examinations over the last three decades. This shows a 10-percentage point rise in the rate of women who passed in medical practitioner exams in 2022, compared with 1995. A 7.9-point rise was seen for the pass rate in bar exams and a 21.6-point increase for patent attorney exams. The percentage of women who passed CPA exams remained relatively steady.

As of 2020, women accounted for 22.8% of all doctors, 24.8% of dentists, 65.2% of pharmacists, and 33.3% of veterinarians. In 2000, the percentage of women veterinarians was at 14.8%, but the next 20 years saw an 18.5-point rise.

In contrast, the rate of women serving on the boards of professional associations remains low. At 24.0% of board members, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations has the highest participation by women. Involvement of women in the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants is 18.0%, followed by 9.4% for the Japan Pharmaceutical Association, 8.8% for the Japan Medical Association, 8.3% for the Japan Veterinary Medical Association, and 7.4% for both the Japan Dental Association and the Japan Patent Attorneys Association.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)