Only One Among 1,500... Japan Abuzz as Female High School Student Passes Bar Exam for the First Time

Keio Girls’ High School Senior Passes Bar Exam in Japan
First Female High School Student to Achieve This, Following Previous Male Students

A current student at a prestigious Japanese girls' high school has passed the national bar exam, drawing significant attention.

Keio Girls' High School Website Featuring High School Girls Passing the Bar Exam

According to the Sankei Shimbun on the 19th (local time), it was confirmed that an 18-year-old third-year student at Keio Girls’ High School, located in Minato Ward, Tokyo, passed this year’s bar exam. While there have previously been male high school students who passed the bar exam-such as a third-year student at Nada High School and a second-year student at Tsukuba University-affiliated Komaba High School-this is the first time a female student has achieved this feat.

In Japan, in addition to graduating from law school, there is an alternative path to the bar exam through a preliminary test, which allows high school students to take the exam if they pass. Of the 1,581 people who passed the bar exam this year, 428 succeeded through the preliminary test route.

Only one person passed while still enrolled in high school, and data released by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology this year specified that the school was Keio Girls’ High School. The Keio Gijuku Public Relations Office also confirmed the existence of this student, according to the Sankei Shimbun.

According to an article posted in October on the school website run by students, the successful student became deeply interested in constitutional law after purchasing an introductory book at a bookstore. This led her to enroll in a bar exam preparatory academy right after the major holidays in her first year of high school, and she passed the preliminary test in February this year, during her second year.

Regarding her future aspirations, the following comment was introduced:

"I have not decided on a specific path yet, but I would like to become a lawyer specializing in corporate legal affairs. My elective subject for the preliminary test was economic law (antitrust law), and I found it fascinating that legal issues can arise even on a large scale, such as between corporations, and that resolving them is interesting work."