Tokyo, 14 January, /AJMEDIA/
Japan’s unified university entrance exams started Saturday across the country as organizers implemented stricter rules to prevent cheating after a photographed image of a question was leaked during the test last year.
Organizers have also implemented coronavirus measures, such as requesting examinees planning to take makeup exams to check if they have body temperatures of 38 C or more, as the country grapples with an eighth wave of infections, according to the National Center for University Entrance Examinations.
As part of the new cheating prevention policy, the organizers warned test-takers that wearing earphones during the exam will be recognized as cheating and that a police report may be filed if evidence of cheating is found.
Other revisions also include proctors asking test-takers before the exam to put their mobile phones on their desks, turn them off and put them in their bags.
Before the examination, the organizers sent a list of things examinees should be cautious about, along with admission tickets.
Last year, a female university student from Osaka Prefecture, aged 19 at the time, was referred to prosecutors for allegedly leaking a unified university entrance exam question. She was later sent to the Osaka Family Court which placed her under two-year probation.
She sent a photographed image of a world history question via Skype on her smartphone hidden in the sleeve of her jacket to at least four University of Tokyo students who had asked for test answers.
Applicants are required to take examinations in geography, history, civics, Japanese language and foreign languages at 679 locations across the country on Saturday, while science and mathematics tests will be held on Sunday.
The number of applicants decreased by 17,786 from last year to 512,581 this year, the affiliate of the education ministry said.
A record 870 universities, colleges and junior colleges will use the results in their screening processes, according to the center.
Security has also been strengthened at universities, where the exams are held, with police assisting to ensure the safety of examinees after two students who attended the examinations last year were stabbed in front of the University of Tokyo.
