Current Todai Student Sued the University in Court Claiming for Unjust Decision on His Failed Grades
“I will continue to appeal my claim in court, but it will take time and there is no guarantee that I will win the case. I am not convinced by the university’s claim, but I also think I have to prepare myself to ‘try hard again as a second-year student’ for my goal of becoming a doctor.”
Aotao Sugiura, 20, a second-year student in the University of Tokyo’s College of Liberal Arts, Science III, describes his current state of mind.
Last year, while taking a required course, Mr. Sugiura contracted a new type of corona. On August 19, 2022, he filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court to have the punishment rescinded, claiming that “it was unfair that the university decided to keep him in school without taking any remedial measures. On October 17, 2022, the District Court dismissed Mr. Sugiura’s lawsuit, but he filed an appeal against the decision at the end of the same month, and the trial is still ongoing.
The lawsuit by an active Todai student against the university has attracted much attention, but we asked Mr. Sugiura how he is currently living his student life. We asked him about his current situation and his feelings.
Mr. Sugiura, who grew up in a family of businessmen in Aichi Prefecture, was accepted into the University of Tokyo’s College of Liberal Arts, Science III, as an active student, under the condition that “if you want to go to medical school, you must go to a national university only. He entered the university in April 2021.
The following year, he advanced smoothly, and in the first semester of his sophomore year, he chose a required course called “Basic Life Science Experiment.” He had already taken all the credits necessary to advance to the second semester except for this course, and it was the last credit he needed. However, on May 17, during the course period, he contracted a new type of corona and was unable to attend lectures.
After several days of sore throat and headache, on the morning of the 17th, his fever suddenly rose to over 39 degrees Celsius. The headache and nausea made me so dazed that I couldn’t even get up from my futon. I was not even aware that this day was a class. Near evening, I remembered that today was the deadline for submitting my assignment report, and although it was still incomplete, I managed to just send it from my computer under the covers.
Mr. Sugiura lives alone in an apartment in Tokyo. The day after the fever broke, he visited a nearby clinic and tested positive for PCR. After that day, he continued to have symptoms of fatigue and drowsiness, and was unable to attend his sixth class on May 24.
On the 25th, I was finally able to explain the situation to my instructor by e-mail. However, I was only allowed to take the make-up class on the 24th, and the class on the 17th was not approved because ‘too much time had passed,’ and I was notified that my grades were ‘failed’ at the June 17 results announcement. I asked the instructor in charge of my case to obtain two medical certificates, one from the clinic where I first saw the doctor and the other from the clinic where I had visited for residual disability, and to explain the situation to the university, but he refused, saying, “There is no longer any special meaning, so you don’t need to submit them. We were not satisfied with the unilaterally unfair punishment, so we held a press conference at the Ministry of Education Press Club on August 4 and filed a lawsuit against the university on August 19.”
On August 5 of last year, the day after Mr. Sugiura’s press conference, the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Liberal Arts posted a “letter of protest” (now deleted) against the Tokyo Shimbun, which published an article pursuing this issue on its website. In the letter, the university stated its opinion regarding its response to Ms. Sugiura: “(The student in question) was confirmed to have accessed the learning management system on the evening of May 17, so it is hard to accept that he was so seriously ill that he was unable to follow the prescribed procedures. This content of the letter further pushed Mr. Sugiura into a corner, he said.
The response to this letter of protest was so strong that criticism of me, such as “Liar! Criticisms against me such as “Liar! The Faculty of Liberal Arts has already deleted the protest letter, but it still remains on social networking sites. I thought that if I did nothing, it would become a fait accompli, so I filed a lawsuit against the university for damages as well as a claim for compensation. We want to find out why the College of Liberal Arts made this claim unilaterally without even looking at the medical report, and we want to make that clear in the civil trial.”
Currently, the trial to revoke the retention order continues to be heard at the High Court, while the lawsuit for damages is pending at the District Court.
Because of his retention, Mr. Sugiura had no classes until April of this year, and naturally, he has not been going to campus. Mr. Sugiura describes his current state of mind.
When it was announced that I would not be returning to school, I was depressed and angry. However, this does not mean that my path to becoming a doctor is closed. I switched my mind, saying, ‘I now have a year to study medicine,’ and I am now doing what I can. Specifically, I am studying with Dr. Masahiro Ue, a hematologist who graduated from the University of Tokyo, as an intern. Thanks to this, I am not confined to my apartment and am able to maintain a sense of tension in my mind. From mid-December last year to early this year, I was also able to participate in helping out in the medical field in the Kansai region.”
Mr. Sugiura relies on his parents to send money for his apartment and living expenses, but he says he is “paying for the trial out of his savings.
I’m about to run out of money, but it’s my own business,” he said. I feel sorry for the burden on my parents because my graduation will be delayed by one year. The possibility of infection exists in everyone. It is not surprising that some students may be forced into a position like mine at any time. I really hope that the university will take a more student-oriented approach.
It must be a very difficult life for a student to be in court with the university. Will he be able to resume his studies as a second-year student in the spring and fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor?
