A weekly Japanese tabloid magazine came under fire after publishing an article that ranked colleges based on how “sexually easy” their female students were.

Spa! magazine interviewed Keiji Isogimi, a manager of matching site Lion Project for the controversial article. Isogimi apparently listed the colleges where female students are considered “sexually easy,” as per Japan Times on Jan. 23.

The controversial feature was published last Dec. 25 and immediately received criticism and flak from readers, with some calling the article “sexist” and “disrespectful to women.”

A petition was also made online, amassing over 50,000 signatures, that rallied for an apology from the publication.

Kazuna Yamamoto, a student at the International Christian University in Tokyo and the organizer of the online petition, stated that she had met with the magazine’s editor and its editorial department.

Yamamato aired out her concerns to the magazine, one of which was its sexual objectification of women, as per report. She also advocated for the importance of sexual consent.

Following the backlash, the magazine released an apology on its Jan. 29 edition, which went on sale last Tuesday, Jan. 22.

Spa! apologized to the universities named in its article, as well as the students. It also apologized to its readers who “were offended by the article, which lacked consideration for the dignity of women.” Cody Cepeda/JB

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