Japan probes Chinese student’s role in exam fraud amid rising cheating scandals

A Chinese student at one of Japan’s top universities has been charged for the third time with helping others cheat in English proficiency tests, a case that observers say may be part of a broader and more sophisticated cheating network involving overseas university admissions.

Wang Likun, a 27-year-old studying artificial intelligence at Kyoto University, was first arrested in May when he attempted to enter a TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) venue while impersonating another candidate.

Police reportedly found a miniature microphone hidden in his face mask and smart glasses connected to a mobile phone, which they suspect he intended to use to feed answers to test-takers equipped with wireless earpieces.

Wang was arrested again on Monday on suspicion of using forged identification to pose as another person at a different exam venue. Police had already linked him to a TOEIC test taken under a pseudonym in March, where he scored 945 out of a possible 990 points, according to the Mainichi newspaper.

The Institute for International Business Communication, which administers the TOEIC exam in Japan, had earlier reported a suspicious surge in high scores among Chinese test-takers and received complaints of some candidates “murmuring in Chinese” during the exam.

After being arrested, Wang reportedly told police that he had been looking for a part-time job and received an online message in Chinese saying he would be paid for taking exams for other people and also for communicating with other test-takers at the same time.