High-Tech Cheating Services Rampant Among Chinese Students in Japan; Competition Intensifying for High TOEIC Scores

By Rintaro Hayashi and Mari Kashiwagi Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

11:09 JST, June 29, 2025

Numerous businesses are offering to help Chinese students in Japan cheat on exams through electronic devices, according to Metropolitan Police Department sources.

About 70 people believed to be Chinese nationals were found to have registered using the same address in Tokyo at a TOEIC English proficiency exam held earlier this month.

Some of the test-takers said that they planned to receive the answers through earphones. Many such cheating services appear to be targeting Chinese students who seek postgraduate admission or employment in Japan.

On June 7 at a TOEIC test venue in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward, police investigators spoke to test-takers at a registration desk based on a list of suspicious students. The police had obtained information that testing fraud would likely occur at the venue.

According to the sources, about 70 people registered for the test that day using the same address of a Tokyo building. A senior police official said they believe that a cheating service provider had instructed the students to do so to gather them at the same venue. Exam venues are usually assigned based on the examinee’s residence and preferences.

The MPD questioned 10 Chinese nationals who arrived at the venue. Some admitted to attempting to cheat. One said, “I was given earphones by the agency and instructed on how to cheat,” while another said, “I needed high scores to enter graduate school.”

Proxy test-taker

In May, the MPD arrested Kyoto University graduate student Wang Likun on suspicion of unlawful entry into a TOEIC exam venue with the intent to take an exam as a proxy.

Wang, 27, was quoted as saying, “I was searching for a job and got a message in Chinese reading, ‘You’ll be paid for taking the exam.’”

Wang is suspected of having acted as a messenger to relay answers. He was found to have smuggled a small microphone inside his mask, worn smart glasses and carried three smartphones. Wang, who studies artificial intelligence at the university, scored 945 out of 990 on an exam he took under a pseudonym in March, according to the police.

In May, the Institute for International Business Communication, which administers TOEIC exams, reported to the MPD that Chinese test-takers were receiving unusually high scores, and some test-takers were murmuring in Chinese during exams.

According to the MPD, which conducted an interview on June 7, a test-taker said: “I found a service provider on social media and paid ¥50,000 to help me cheat on the exam. But then it contacted me saying, ‘Since the person who was supposed to provide answers disappeared, we will refund you the full amount.’ So, I had no choice but to come here to take the test on my own.”

The test-taker is believed to have asked Wang, and another person said they asked a different agency, according to the police.

Seeking study in Japan

“We have a specialist group of proxy test-takers who score over 900 in the TOEIC.”

Such a catchphrase is seen on Chinese social media, and similar messages are posted by agencies that are paid to help with cheating in Japan. Some posts even claim, “No studying required for high scores.”

So why do Chinese students need high TOEIC scores?

Tokyo Metropolitan University Prof. Shuichiro Hoshi, who served as a visiting professor at a Chinese university until three years ago, said China’s economic slowdown has deteriorated its domestic job market, prompting more young Chinese to seek study in Japan or employment at Japanese companies.

High TOEIC scores are advantageous for employment, and some graduate schools exempt those who score high from taking entrance English tests, which likely contributes to widespread cheating.

In response, the TOEIC operator revised its procedures by requesting test-takers to submit identification if their address and other details seemed off. It also checks their eyewear functions and if their phones are switched off.

“Competition among the Chinese coming to Japan is intensifying every year,” said a Chinese woman in her 20s who studies at a Japanese language school in Tokyo. “It’s not surprising that some people turn to [illegal] agencies for help.”

Abuse of electronics

Misuse of electronic devices in exams continues unabated. In 2022, students leaked questions on the Common Test for University Admissions and Hitotsubashi University exam using smartphones and small cameras. In the 2024 Waseda University entrance exam, questions were photographed using smart glasses and sent to an outside party via smartphones.

“China has taken strict countermeasures for over a decade, such as using radio jamming at exam venues,” said IT journalist Yo Mikami, who is familiar with cheating problems. “Abuse of AI will come in the future. Japan will need to update its measures to keep up with technological advancements.”