A celebrity-producing high school was ordered by the Tokyo District Court to pay about 980,000 yen $7,200 in compensation for a former student who was expelled because of her relationship with another student there.
The ruling on Nov. 30 said no dating rule at Horikoshi High School in Tokyo's Nakano Ward was reasonable, but the punishment against the plaintiff for violating the rule went too far.
The plaintiff was a third-year student at the school in November 2019. According to court documents, the problems arose.
She had received a recommendation letter for admission to a university, but the school annulled the letter after learning she had violated a school rule that bans dating between certain men and women. The high school told her to drop out.
The plaintiff said that if you don't transfer to another school immediately, you won't be able to earn the credits required to graduate, and you won't be able to go to a university when you protested the school's admonishment. The student dropped out and was transferred to a high school correspondence course. She also attended a cram school and took the general college entrance exam.
She demanded 7 million yen in damages from the Horikoshi High School operator in her suit.
Her lawyer argued that the school rule is a blanket ban on dating, including relationships based on sincere romantic feelings. The lawyer has urged the court to invalidate the rule, saying it is irrational even if consideration is given to the freedom of private school education. The student's academic performance at the school was solid, and the school's actions of forcing her to drop out were too severe and illegal, the lawyer said.
Horikoshi High School is known for its courses geared toward people seeking careers in the entertainment and sports industries. Many show-business personalities in Japan have graduated from the school.
The ban on dating was not known to the student before she entered the school, according to the ruling.
The court said the rule was reasonable and valid because it followed the school's philosophy and policy of having students dedicate themselves to studying and other pursuits.
The school could not have avoided administering a punishment that was practically a forced expulsion, because of the plaintiff's violation of the rule, according to the ruling.
The ruling said that applying such a formal penalty was an illegal judgment and went beyond the educational discretion of the school, considering the student's positive attitude toward school life.