Common University Entrance Exams Begin, with Over 5,000 Applicants in Quake-hit Ishikawa Pref.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:59 JST, January 13, 2024

The two-day Common Test for University Admissions began Saturday morning across the nation, including Ishikawa Prefecture, which has been severely affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

A total of 5,229 applicants in the prefecture were scheduled to take the examinations at eight test sites set up at seven universities, including Kanazawa University.

In response to the Jan. 1 earthquake, the test administrator has taken special measures for affected applicants, such as allowing them to take the tests even if they have lost their examination admission slips.

Many test-takers in the affected areas continued to study hard for the exams even after moving to evacuation centers.

About 30 test-takers were seen waiting under rain mixed with snow for the examination site to open at Kanazawa Gakuin University in Kanazawa on Saturday morning. Under the building’s eaves, they gripped omamori amulets and flipped through reference books with their cold hands.

A third-year student at Ishikawa prefectural Wajima High School in Wajima had been studying for the exams in a car and at an evacuation center.

“I’m not going to give up, even in the face of the disaster,” said the student. “I want to challenge the exams head-on and get my results.”

The National Center for University Entrance Examinations has arranged special measures for applicants affected by the disaster. All of those who were unable to take the tests in the prefecture on Saturday and Sunday will be eligible for the supplementary examinations on Jan. 27 and 28. In addition to the two supplementary test sites initially planned in Tokyo and Kyoto, another venue will be set up at Kanazawa University’s Kakuma Campus in Kanazawa. Submission of a Disaster Victim Certificate will not be required.

A total of 491,914 people applied for the tests at 668 sites across the country this year, the fourth time it has been held under the current format.