TOKYO: The Tokyo Medical University had been ordered by a court to reimburse candidates who were penalised after it admitted to rigging its exams to limit the entrance of female and certain male applicants.
A judge in the Tokyo District Court ruled that the manipulation of scores violated the principle of equality enshrined by the constitution and there was strong suspicion that the university acted illegally against the applicants.
The court concluded that the university had deducted points from the scores of women and previously unsuccessful male candidates who sat for its entrance exams in 2017 and 2018.
The suit was brought by the state-certified body, Consumers Organisation of Japan, to confirm that the university was obliged to reimburse the expenses incurred by candidates who were penalised in the exam rigging. If the district court ruling is finalised, the organisation will ask those affected to join the process under which the Tokyo court will determine the amount of individual compensation to be paid.
According to Kyodo News, the university admitted in 2018 that it had manipulated its exam scores for over 10 years to curb female enrolment in the belief that women tend to resign or take long periods of leave after marrying or giving birth.
Male applicants who previously failed were discriminated against as they were more likely to fail the national exam for medical practitioners, hurting the university’s reputation.
The judge said the university had to pay compensation for exam fees and expenses related to the submission of application documents.
However, the court rejected the consumer group’s claim that the university should compensate applicants for their travel expenses, saying each individual's circumstances needed to be examined and the procedure for collective redress could not be applied. It was the first such ruling under a 2016 special law on collective redress for consumers.
The discovery of the score manipulation by Tokyo Medical University led to a government probe, revealing similar cases of exam rigging by Juntendo University and other medical schools. The consumer body has filed a similar lawsuit against Juntendo University with the Tokyo District Court.