A Chinese international student is suspected of acting as a proxy test taker and assisting others in cheating in Japan's TOEIC English proficiency exam, and was arrested in May this year. The association that runs the TOEIC announced on the 7th that, since May 2023, 803 examinees registered with the same or similar address as this man. These individuals are suspected of cheating, and all their scores have been invalidated.
According to a report by Central News Agency, the 27-year-old Chinese man, a second-year graduate student at Kyoto University in Japan, has already been indicted. He is suspected of acting as a proxy for the TOEIC English test in Tokyo's Itabashi district and was arrested by the police. It is believed he transmitted answers to other test-takers, hiding a small microphone inside his mask and carrying electronic equipment such as glasses-shaped "smart glasses".
The International Business Communication Association (IIBC, based in Tokyo), the organizer of the TOEIC exam, said that after investigating the examinees' information since May 2023, a total of 803 test-takers had the same address as the accused Chinese man, or only differed in room number. The association determined this was a method of abusing the system where test site is decided according to address, allowing these candidates to receive answers from the suspect at the test site.
The association announced that all past exam results for these 803 examinees are now invalid, and they are barred from registering for the TOEIC for the next five years. If any school or business wishes to inquire about relevant information, the association will respond.
As a result of this incident, from June onward, the association requires examinees with questionable addresses to provide identification documents. In addition, before the test, staff will check if examinees have turned off their mobile phones and confirm the function of their glasses.
The association is also considering installing detectors to pick up mobile phone signals at test sites, and will continue investigating whether there are other similar cheating cases.