After catching a cheater earlier this year, authorities in Japan suspect that a Chinese group is responsible for over 800 cases of cheating on English proficiency tests spanning multiple years.
Taking advantage of leniency offered to test takers, the culprits pretended to forget their admission ticket so they could receive a spare ticket to impersonate someone else.
According to The Mainichi, Japanese authorities said they suspect that there were about 803 cases of cheating between May 2023 and June 2025.
On 18 May, Wang LiKun — a Kyoto University graduate student — was arrested for attempting to cheat on a Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) exam.
Tipped off to possible fraud, police officers were already on site when Mr Wang showed up to the test centre. When he told the admission desk he had forgotten his ticket, police questioned him. Eventually, Mr Wang admitted to the cheating allegations.
The Kyoto University graduate student told police he had been attempting to impersonate a person. He tried to exploit exam organisers’ goodwill to create a spare admission ticket different from his own name.
According to Japan Forward, testing centres often allow test takers who forget their admission ticket to receive a provisional one without a strict identity check. This was done as the system prioritised letting examinees take the exam.
However, a group of test takers exploited the good faith.
According to Yomiuri Shimbun, Wang had allegedly conveyed answers to other test takers by muttering into a microphone hidden inside a mask.
To ensure they end up in the same test centre, Wang and the other cheaters reportedly registered using the same address.
After his arrest, police found that Mr Wang had smuggled a small microphone inside his mask, worn smart glasses, and carried three smartphones. Police also said he had scored 945 out of 990 under a different name in March.
Police suspect that a Chinese group was responsible for the alleged widespread cheating.
In Mr Wang’s case, he claimed to have received a message while job searching last winter.
Source: Yomiuri Shimbun
“I was searching for a job and got a message in Chinese reading, ‘You’ll be paid for taking the exam,'” Mr Wang said.
Apart from Wang, other Chinese nationals also admitted that they had attempted to cheat.
“I was given earphones by the agency and instructed on how to cheat,” one said.
Meanwhile, an examinee claimed they found a “service provider” on social media and paid ¥50,000 (S$437) for them to help cheat on the exam.
According to Asahi Shimbun, authorities suspected something was amiss when they began seeing unusual scores.
“There has recently been an unusual increase in Chinese people scoring over 900 points,” one exam organiser said.
For Chinese nationals, these scores can be life-changing. Good TOIEC scores can often exempt one from taking an English test before enrolling in a graduate school in Japan.
One Japanese professor, who had served as a visiting professor at a Chinese university, also added that more Chinese nationals are studying and seeking employment in Japan due to an economic slowdown in China.
Meanwhile, Mr Wang has been indicted on charges of forging a private document for sitting exams.
Also read: Male student in Thailand forced to leave teacher exam as he wore female uniform
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from SNDRF on Canva. For illustration purposes only.