The Tokyo District Court on Friday ruled that Tokyo Medical University is obliged to pay back entrance examination fees to applicants due to the university's discriminatory treatment mainly against female examinees.
On behalf of the victims, the Consumers Organization of Japan filed a lawsuit to establish that the university is obliged to repay the examination fees and other funds.
The ruling criticized the university's discriminatory treatment of female students and those who previously failed in the entrance exam as "against the spirit of the Constitution, which guarantees equality under the law."
The refunds will be made to women and those who had previously failed exams, who took the university's entrance exams in 2017 and 2018. There are a total of about 2,800 female applicants. If the ruling is finalized, the university is expected to pay back fees -- 40,000 yen to 60,000 yen per exam -- to those former examinees.
In an essay on the second stage of the entrance exam, the university manipulated the score so that the women would be disadvantaged. The ruling stated that universities are responsible for respecting the principle of equality under the Constitution when deciding whom to pass or fail, adding, "It is illegal to manipulate the score secretly without informing the applicants."
The ruling therefore acknowledged that the university is obliged to pay back fees for entrance examinations and the mailing of application documents. However, the ruling declined to include travel and accommodation expenses for the test, saying, "Each student has different circumstances."
"It is a socially significant decision that paves the way for many former applicants to recover damages," Yukitaka Sasaki, a lawyer who is a vice chairman of the nonprofit organization, said at a press conference after the ruling.
The university said in a statement that it will scrutinize the ruling and consider how to respond.
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