A court on Friday ordered Tokyo Medical University to pay damages totaling around ¥18.26 million ($127,000) to 27 women who claimed the school rigged its entrance exams in favor of male candidates, depriving them of admission.
In the lawsuit filed with the Tokyo District Court, the 27 women sought a total of ¥152.33 million in damages against the university, saying the gender-based discrimination in entrance exams that came to light in 2018 was illegal.
The university admitted in 2018 that it had been marking down exam scores since at least 2006 to curb female enrollment and those of men who had failed the exam previously.
The improper action was aimed at preventing a shortage of doctors at affiliated hospitals in the belief that women tend to resign or take long periods of leave after getting married or giving birth.
After the discriminatory action at Tokyo Medical University was revealed, a government probe into 81 universities with medical faculties showed that another nine schools had conducted similar manipulations of exam scores, opening the door to a series of lawsuits by former candidates.
In May, the district court ordered Juntendo University to pay around ¥8.05 million in damages to 13 women for suffering emotional distress as a result of the university's gender-based discrimination.
In a separate lawsuit filed by the Consumers Organization of Japan on behalf of candidates who were not accepted to Tokyo Medical University, a settlement was reached in July 2021, where the university agreed to return entrance exam fees and other expenses to around 560 former candidates.