Japan’s Civil Aviation College to Have Female Applicant Quota from 2027; Quota Hopes to Secure More Female Pilots in Domestic Airlines

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:16 JST, February 24, 2025

The transport ministry will set an entrance exam quota for women at Civil Aviation College, which trains pilots. The school will start recruiting applicants for the 2027 academic year’s admission.

Female pilots account for 1.9% of all pilots at Japanese airlines, lower than the average of 4.7% at major airlines around the world. The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry hopes to raise the percentage to 10% by 2035.

According to the announcement made Friday, the ministry plans to review the contents of the current exam system and set up a category primarily based on a personality-centered evaluation. The new evaluation will use such means as document screening and interviews instead of the conventional written exam. The new category will have 30 slots, with 20 of them expected to be female quota.

Under the envisaged plan, women will account for nearly 20% of the total recruitment capacity of 108.

In addition, the college will remove from its admission requirements the condition that applicants be at least 158 centimeters tall. The new condition will take effect for those entering in the 2026 academic year.

The college’s graduates account for about 40% of the pilots working for domestic airlines. However, of those who entered the college for the 2024 academic year, only six, or 5.6%, were female students.