At the University of Tokyo, Japan's equivalent of Harvard, only 1 in 5 undergraduates are women. It is a byproduct of deep-seated gender inequality in Japan, where women are not expected to achieve as much as men and are subject to layers of stereotypes. nyti.ms/3457YNn
The inequality extends across other elite schools. Among 7 publicly funded national universities, women make up just over one quarter of undergraduates. They lag other selective institutions across Asia. nyti.ms/3457YNn 
Unconsciously or not, high school and college administrators say, parents are more likely to push sons to achieve. Young Japanese girls are repeatedly fed the idea that academic achievement is not feminine. nyti.ms/3457YNn
After Satomi Hayashi was admitted to the University of Tokyo, also known as Todai, her friends warned that men would be intimidated by her degree. She did a Google search for "Can Todai women get married?" and discovered it was a well-trod stereotype. nyti.ms/3457YNn
In and outside class, Hayashi said, women also have to tolerate a culture in which men make jokes filled with sexual innuendo or comment on women’s appearances nyti.ms/3457YNn
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promoted an agenda of female empowerment. But the dearth of women at elite universities reflects — and magnifies — a lackluster record in elevating women to the most powerful reaches of society. nyti.ms/3457YNn
日本語で読む nytimes.com/ja/2019/12/08/…
