Batruch et al. (2023) discovered the relationship between belief in school meritocracy —the belief that academic success is solely based on merit— and the legitimization of social and economic inequality. Individuals holding strong beliefs in meritocracy tended to perceive less inequality in both educational institutions and society at large. In order to explore this relationship within the context of gender inequality in Japan, we conducted three studies. Studies 1 and 2 focused on establishing a correlation between belief in school meritocracy and the legitimization of gender inequality, while Study 3 aimed to manipulate belief in school meritocracy to examine its effect on perceptions of gender inequality. Interestingly, the results of Study 2 contradicted those of Study 3, leaving our findings inconclusive. We subsequently discussed potential avenues for future research in this area.