The Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered a Tokyo medical school to pay around ¥8.05 million ($63,000) in damages to 13 women for rigging its entrance exams in favor of male candidates, in what is believed to be the first ruling of its kind after a series of manipulations of exam results were uncovered in the nation.
The court ruled that the women had suffered emotional distress as a result of Juntendo University's gender-based discrimination, awarding each between ¥300,000 and ¥900,000 in compensation. The plaintiffs had sought a combined ¥54 million.
Presiding Judge Makiko Kamoto criticized the university's unfair treatment as "irrational and discriminatory," saying private universities are also obliged to abide by Article 14 of the Constitution, which prohibits discrimination based on gender.