This is a judicial decision that blames the university for undermining public trust in fair entrance examinations.
Concerning the irregularities perpetrated by the Faculty of Medicine at Tokyo Medical University in entrance examinations, the Tokyo District Court has handed down a ruling that "the university has an obligation to return the examination fees to the examinees who have been disadvantaged in the entrance examinations."
In the second stage of examinations, Tokyo Medical University manipulated the scores of female examinees to their disadvantage, as well as those of applicants who had spent more years than usual retaking or preparing for the entrance tests after leaving high school. Such treatment was not stated in the application guidelines.
The ruling pointed out that the manipulation of scores violates the spirit of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law. Based on this, the ruling stated that "it is illegal to have manipulated the scores secretly without giving notice in the application guidelines."
In addition to Tokyo Medical University, other universities have also discriminated against female examinees and other applicants. Each university must take seriously the fact that the illegality of entrance exam irregularities was clearly recognized in the trial.
The suit was filed by the Consumers Organization of Japan, a qualified consumer organization certified by the government, in place of the examinees in question. This is the first lawsuit filed based on the special law on judicial procedures for the interests of consumers, which came into effect in 2016.
The trial is conducted in two stages. If the ruling acknowledging that the university has an obligation to return examination fees of 40,000 yen to 60,000 yen per test to the examinees is finalized, the consumer organization will invite the victims to join the case and will report it to the court. Then the court will determine the amount of damages, and the university will pay the damages to the victims.
Use special law effectively
Female applicants and others who took the exams for Tokyo Medical University did not expect to be discriminated against uniformly on the basis of gender or other factors. Many people are expected to take part in the lawsuit demanding the return of examination fees.
The special law was introduced to help large numbers of victims having consumer trouble en masse, in cases in which the amount of damages per victim is relatively small, ranging from several thousand yen to several hundred thousand yen.
When an individual files a lawsuit against a company or other entity, there is a high hurdle. But this system allows victims to take part in a lawsuit after the case has been won. This is a major advantage in reducing the time and labor required for the trial.
However, only three lawsuits have been filed since the law went into effect 3-1/2 years ago. This is partly because the system is not well known. The fact that it has been used to help the victims of these entrance exam irregularities, a situation that attracted society's attention, may have served as a catalyst for the system to become widely known.
Under this system, if the consumer organization loses a lawsuit, it bears the court costs. Even if the organization wins, it has to shoulder the costs of informing numerous victims of the outcome of the trial.
The move is designed to help victims across a wide range of areas rather than leaving them to suffer in silence. It is essential to identify issues that need to be addressed in order to realize the goals of the system while accumulating judicial precedents.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 7, 2020)
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
