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Law Former student awarded damages over dating ban

thomas

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Last Wednesday, the Tokyo District Court awarded 970,000 JPY in damages to a woman who left a Tokyo high school after being admonished by its principal to do so in 2019 for violating a school rule that banned dating by its students. The court ruled the admonishment by Horikoshi high school was unlawful, saying it was beyond educational discretion and effectively forced the woman to drop out of school. However, it also ruled the regulation itself was valid.

"Considering the school's educational ideals and policies, the rule is reasonable in the context of social standards as a rule for making students focus on studies by banning dating," said Presiding Judge Kazuhiro Murata in handing down the ruling. The woman had sought roughly 7 million yen in damages from Horikoshi Gakuen, the operator of the high school, claiming it was unlawful for the school to urge her to voluntarily drop out. She also said the school regulation was unreasonable and claimed mental distress for being repeatedly questioned by teachers whether she had had sexual intercourse. On Nov 20, 2019, the woman, who was then a third-year student, admitted in an interview with a teacher that she was going out with a male student. Two days later, she was urged by the principal to leave the school for violating the school rule.

 
"Wellllll in retrospect we probably shouldn't have deprived you of your education - but on the other hand, what we did was technically not against the law".

Anyway, take your $7150 bucks and off you go.

Feels more like a vindication of an outdated school policy than a legal victory for this young woman.
 
With privacy being so highly valued in Japan it is rather surprising that checks such as this can occur. Shouldn't a student being able to date or not fall to the parents of the child, not to a school? I guess the only bright side is that they didn't try to preform some virginity check or something. :rolleyes:
 
"Wellllll in retrospect we probably shouldn't have deprived you of your education - but on the other hand, what we did was technically not against the law".

Anyway, take your $7150 bucks and off you go.

Feels more like a vindication of an outdated school policy than a legal victory for this young woman.

Well it does make some sense. This high school is for people who want to become an idol. The whole idol system makes dating against the rules so their fans can fantasize.

 
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