One after another, new allegations are coming out… Huge lawsuit for damages awaits the fallen “empress” of Tokyo Women’s Medical University

The words “Tokyo Detention Center” written on the complaint

Kinuko Iwamoto, 78, former president of Tokyo Women’s Medical University (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo), was arrested in January and indicted in February on charges of breach of trust in connection with the improper expenditure of approximately 287 million yen for the construction of a new school building.

In August, the university filed a civil lawsuit against the defendant, who was once known for her authoritarian management, seeking damages of approximately 243 million yen.

The complaint and other court documents obtained by Friday Digital reveal the downfall of the “empress. Iwamoto used to sue critical alumni for defamation as a representative of the university. However, now that she has been arrested, she is being sued by the university, and her position has changed drastically, as she is now being pursued for the unexplained manipulation of funds that she conducted while she was the president of the university.

On August 12, 2013, a lawsuit for damages was filed in the Tokyo District Court. The plaintiff was Tokyo Women’s Medical University Educational Corporation, and the defendant was the former president, Dr. Iwamoto.

The complaint states the address of the defendant Iwamoto as follows

Tokyo Detention Center, 1-35-1 Kosuge, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo.

The defendant has been charged with breach of trust and is currently in custody at the Tokyo Detention Center.

At least as of the filing of the lawsuit in August, Iwamoto was detained at the Tokyo Detention Center on suspicion of breach of trust in connection with the construction of a new university building and other matters. This civil lawsuit is separate from this criminal case, and the university is seeking compensation from the defendant Iwamoto for damages caused by past improper expenditure of funds. The amount claimed amounts to 243,203,181 yen.

Why did they file the lawsuit at this time, more than six months after the arrest? In response to an interview by Friday Digital, the public relations office of Tokyo Women’s Medical University responded as follows.

The lawsuit was filed after the police returned some of the materials that had been confiscated as a result of the arrest and indictment, and after considering the merits of the lawsuit based on this information.

The university has now received back in its possession the “hard evidence” that had been confiscated by the police, and the lawsuit has been filed with a sense of urgency.

Numerous “allegations” reported before his arrest for breach of trust

Iwamoto, who is now being sued by the university for a huge amount of damages, has a history of “silencing” his critics in court by becoming a plaintiff himself during his tenure as chancellor.

In 2011, members of the alumni association “Shiseikai,” who were concerned about the current state of the university, sent a document to its members containing the headlines of various news articles in which Mr. Iwamoto was “allegedly” involved during his term as chancellor. However, Mr. Iwamoto did not allow this move. As a representative of the university, he filed a lawsuit against the members for “defamation,” demanding as much as 11 million yen in damages and taking the case to court. This was a lawsuit that could have been viewed as a so-called ‘slap lawsuit’ (a lawsuit to silence critical voices),” said a university official.

However, the trial by the Iwamoto defendants ended in January 2012 with a total defeat for the Iwamoto defendants. In its written decision, the Tokyo District Court found that the sharing of criticism and media coverage of the university’s operations was for “public interest purposes.

The purpose of the defendants (editor’s note: alumni association members) in sending this letter was (omitted) to point out problems, such as the fact that the plaintiffs have not provided sufficient explanation of the facts sufficient for the contents of each of the reports in question, and (omitted) to call for support for working toward the resolution of said problems, because it is recognized that the purpose of the defendants (alumni association members) in sending this letter was (omitted) to call for support for working toward the resolution of said problems, Therefore, it should be said that the purpose of the activities of the plaintiffs was to promote the public interest.

Thus, the court found that the members of the group had a legitimate motive for their activities, because “the university was not sufficiently accountable for the content of the news reports.

After the arrests, the situation was completely reversed. The newly formed university became the plaintiff, seeking damages against Iwamoto, the former head of the university.

According to the complaint, the issue is the legitimacy of the payment of salaries to two former employees who were close associates of the Iwamoto defendants. The two former employees also worked for Iwamoto’s personal clinic, a corporation, and an alumni association called “Shiseikai,” and were not able to devote themselves to university business. Despite this, Iwamoto allegedly placed his close associates in key positions at the university and paid them extra compensation that was not commensurate with their actual duties. The complaint alleges that although Iwamoto was aware that his two close associates were not in a position to devote themselves to their work, he nevertheless paid them compensation that was not commensurate with the actual situation,

Despite the fact that Iwamoto was aware that his two close associates were not able to devote themselves to their work, he took the initiative in concluding the agreements, which provided for compensation far in excess of the salary paid to regular employees, and caused the plaintiffs to incur excessive expenses.

The university’s legal basis for this is that the plaintiffs were forced to pay excessive expenses.

The legal basis for the allegations is that the university violated the “duty of care” and “duty of loyalty” imposed on the directors of a school corporation. In the complaint filed by the university, the legal basis for the claim that the defendant Iwamoto breached his duty as a director and caused damage to the university is clearly stated as follows.

The complaint alleges that the defendant (Editor’s note: Ms. Iwamoto), who was a director of the plaintiff (Tokyo Women’s Medical University), violated her duty of care (omitted) and duty of loyalty to the plaintiff (omitted), and is liable for causing damages to the plaintiff (omitted).

In other words, it is alleged that he caused damage to the university in order to enrich a certain close associate, ignoring the fact that he was the head of the university, who was supposed to protect the university’s property. The university’s evidence shows in detail the payments that were not stipulated, such as the payment of 1.5 million yen per month from January 2006 to January 2008 to one of his close associates, while the original maximum salary was approximately 550,000 yen. The total amount of “unauthorized expenditures” that were not originally required to be paid was estimated at 139,543,700 yen for the two persons.

At the time, the Tokyo Women’s Medical University was in a very difficult financial situation, and personnel expenses were frequently cut, including reduction of bonuses and suspension of salary increases for employees. The complaint seeks to hold Iwamoto responsible for continuing exorbitant spending on close associates while inflicting pain on front-line medical personnel.

The Criminal Case and the Possibility of Further Litigation

However, the government’s second supplementary budget has allowed medical institutions that are in need due to the deteriorating management caused by the H1N1 coronavirus to receive emergency loans from the Welfare and Medical Service Agency with conditions such as unsecured and low interest rates. However, the government’s second supplementary budget made it possible for medical institutions in need to receive emergency loans from the Welfare and Medical Service Agency with low interest rates and unsecured loans, and the government finally paid a bonus equivalent to one month’s salary, which was significantly lower than in previous years.

Of course, the defendant was aware and grasped these circumstances as well.

（Despite this, the defendant caused the plaintiff to suffer damages in the amount of 139,543,700 yen.

What is also noteworthy about this lawsuit is the fact that the costs of the investigation by the “third-party committee” set up to uncover the full extent of the fraud are also being claimed as damages.

The mandatory investigation by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department into Iwamoto’s alleged breach of trust forced the university to have its lawyers conduct a thorough investigation. According to the complaint, the total cost of the investigation amounted to approximately 360 million yen. The university claimed that this huge expense was also a loss incurred “as a result of the defendant’s breach of fiduciary duty. The university is also demanding payment of the 136,659,481 yen, after deducting the portion compensated by insurance, on the grounds that the defendant Iwamoto should bear the burden of causing the damage.

The approximately 243 million yen that the university is claiming this time is only for the exorbitant personnel expenses paid to close associates and a portion of the third-party committee’s investigation costs. However, this is not the only “law and money” pursuit awaiting Iwamoto.

The university’s public relations department revealed to Friday Digital that it is also pursuing “another lawsuit” against Iwamoto.

On August 12, Reiwa 2025, we filed a lawsuit against the payer and former Chancellor Iwamoto for a total of 9.72 million yen spent in the name of consulting services, claiming damages based on joint tortious behavior.

In addition to the approximately 243 million yen lawsuit, the university is taking legal action against the former president for unaccounted-for consulting expenses, among other things.

Furthermore, the criminal case in which Iwamoto was arrested and charged with breach of trust in connection with the construction of a new school building is also believed to amount to a huge sum of money. The investigative report points out the suspicion that more than 100 million yen was returned to parties close to Iwamoto when the order for the multi-billion yen construction project was placed.

The university responded that it was “undecided at this time,” but the report also states that “the university has not yet decided” on a claim for damages related to this matter,

However, the same report also states that Mr. E (editor’s note: a person closely related to the Iwamoto defendant) “did not know” about the refunding of construction expenses, etc. at the Committee’s hearing with Mr. Iwamoto. (Editor’s note: Although Mr. Iwamoto stated that he was “unaware” at the Committee’s hearing, Mr. E was a senior executive in the Corporate Management Department who was heavily employed by Mr. Iwamoto, and even if Mr. Iwamoto was unaware, Mr. Iwamoto, as the Executive Director, is recognized as having a serious administrative responsibility.

The complaint also states. Also in the complaint,

The investigation report (omitted) reports a number of acts that are suspected to be fraudulent, including the acts that are the subject of this lawsuit.

The complaint also mentions that “the investigation report (omitted) reports a number of acts that are suspected of being fraudulent, including the acts that are the subject of this lawsuit.

We asked Iwamoto’s law firm to comment on these lawsuits, but did not receive a response by the deadline.

A former board chairman who once used lawsuits to check those who did not agree with his wishes. She was named in the investigative report as “Iwamoto’s powerhouse” and boasted of her absolute power within the university. The price to be paid may be as heavy as ever.