Japan Times: "Tackle gender gap in mathematics, reading"

Article here. Excerpt:

'In science, Japanese fourth-graders ranked fourth in performance compared to their international peers; eighth-graders ranked third; 15-year-olds ranked third. All three ranks represent performances significantly above international averages.

The only difference in average math performance between Japanese boys and girls was in the 15-year-old category, wherein boys outperformed girls by 20 points. The math gender gap has widened by 9 points since 2003.

Japanese 15-year-old girls outperformed boys in reading by 31 points. The reading gender gap has not narrowed since PISA began collecting data in 2000. It is currently more than 50 percent larger than the math gender gap.
...
52 percent of males and 38 percent of females enter universities in Japan. The international average is 50 percent of males and 62 percent of females.'