Chinese Student Suspected of Involvement in TOEIC Cheating; Arrested after Entering Test Venue with Other Person’s ID

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:39 JST, May 20, 2025

A 27-year-old Chinese graduate student at Kyoto University has been arrested on suspicion of unlawful entry into a venue for the TOEIC English proficiency exam, in what authorities believe was a part of an organized effort to cheat.

The suspect allegedly used the ID card of another student to enter the venue, into which he also smuggled a small microphone.

According to a statement from the Metropolitan Police Department, the student is suspected of entering the exam venue in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, for no justifiable reason. He has admitted to the charges, saying he did it for money.

The suspect also told police that he had been called to a train station on a different date and received the student ID card there.

The MPD’s Nogata station in Nakano Ward, Tokyo, has been on alert against cheating and impersonation related to TOEIC since the Institute for International Business Communication in the ward, which operates TOEIC exams, told the police station that someone appeared to have repeatedly taken the tests using a different name each time.

The suspect’s proxy exam taking was discovered on Sunday after he submitted a document with the name of another person to the reception at the test venue. He hid the microphone behind a facemask.

The MPD branch station suspects that he was trying to convey the correct answers to other exam takers. About 30% of the people scheduled to take the exam in the same room as the suspect that day were reportedly absent.

Since June last year, a person believed to be the suspect has taken multiple TOEIC exams under a different name each time and received scores of 90% or more.