The plaintiffs, female employees of Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd., sued their employer in 1995 in the fifth Civil Section of the Osaka District Court, alleging gender discrimination. During the mid-1960s, the company had hired female employees in the clerical position without an opportunity for them to transfer to specialist jobs. The male employees with the same education degrees were placed on a management track. The hiring practice, which the plaintiffs were challenging, resulted in a wage and positional gap between the male and female workers with similar educational background and years in service.
1. How is this employment law determination similar to that in the Kochi Hoso case earlier in this chapter? Was the judge overruling written law with his view of a "socially accepted" view?