
Chinese accused of impersonation to help others cheat on TOEIC
Tokyo police have arrested a Chinese graduate student who is believed to be a central figure in widespread cheating on the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC).
Wang Likun, 27, from Kyoto's Sakyo Ward, is accused of trespassing at a TOEIC exam venue in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward by impersonating another test-taker, the Metropolitan Police Department said May 19.
He reportedly admitted to the allegations, saying, 'It is true that I was present at the test venue with an ID card that is different from my real name.'
According to the Nogata Police Station in the capital, the suspect, in a conspiracy with others, entered the venue at 2:50 p.m. on May 18 without a legitimate reason.
The test organizer had contacted police earlier this month, saying, 'Recently, we've been seeing test-takers with the same face photos but different names.'
Police officers were on guard at the venue on May 18 when Wang showed up. He told the reception desk that he had 'forgotten his test ticket.'
When the officers interviewed Wang, he admitted that he was pretending to be someone else. He said he was trying to create a spare admission ticket under a name that was different from the one he had used in previous exams.
Wang also had a small microphone of 3 to 4 centimeters hidden in his mask, police said.
CHEATING 'JOB'
The exam organizers had earlier told police they suspected widespread cheating.
'There has recently been an unusual increase in Chinese people scoring over 900 points (out of 990),' one of them said.
They also reported that one test-taker was muttering in Chinese at the exam venue.
The MPD believes Wang was the mutterer who was revealing correct answers to other Chinese there.
The suspect reportedly said he was looking for part-time work to gain money, and that he found this 'job.'
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the exam-cheating job and who else was involved.
The Nogata Police Station plans to refer Wang to prosecutors on May 20 on suspicion of counterfeiting private seals and documents through his impersonation of another test-taker.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Asahi Shimbun
2 days ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Apologies issued to falsely accused firm; but too late, says president
Hirohide Mori, far left, from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, and Tetsuro Kamata, deputy superintendent-general of the Metropolitan Police Department, apologize to Masaaki Okawara, second from right, and other Ohkawara Kakohki Co. officials on June 20. (Tetsuro Takehana) High-ranking law enforcement officials in Tokyo apologized to past and current executives of a company that manufactures spray dryers for dragging them through an investigation that a high court concluded was illegal. Tetsuro Kamata, deputy superintendent-general of the Metropolitan Police Department, was joined by Hirohide Mori, head of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office's public security division, in the June 20 mission to set matters straight. The first part of the June 20 meeting at the Yokohama headquarters of Ohkawara Kakohki Co. was open to the media. Kamata apologized for the psychological burden placed on Masaaki Okawara, the company president, and Junji Shimada, a former executive, by the investigation, while Mori begged forgiveness for acting on the request by prosecutors to hand down indictments and detain the pair. A third individual who was indicted died before his name was cleared. Okawara said the apology should have been made much earlier and added, 'I want your organization to become one where such things never happen again.' But the meeting did not go smoothly. Kamata at one point referred to Shimada as 'Yamamoto' and Mori also mixed up the name of the company. Bereaved family members of the late Shizuo Aishima, a company adviser, refused to attend the June 20 meeting on grounds they could not accept an apology unless the root cause of the miscarriage of justice was made clear. Tsuyoshi Takada, a lawyer representing the company officials, briefed reporters about what transpired during the part of the meeting closed to the media. Takada said an apology was offered on behalf of Takako Tsukabe, the prosecutor who was in charge of the case that led to the indictments. In her apology, Tsukabe said more care should have been taken before deciding to hand down indictments. But in her testimony during the lawsuit brought by Okawara and his fellow plaintiffs, Tsukabe said she would have made the same decision and felt no mistake had been made. In 2020, Okawara and his two colleagues were arrested and indicted on suspicion of violating the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law for exporting spray-drying machines that could be used for military purposes without a license. They were accused of exporting spray dryers without obtaining government permission. But before the case went to trial in 2021, prosecutors dropped the charges, having come to the realization that the plaintiffs were probably correct in their claim that the equipment was not subject to export restrictions. In May, the Tokyo High Court increased the compensation police and prosecutors were ordered to pay and ruled that the investigation was illegal because there was no rational basis for making the arrests and indictments. (This article was written by Koichi Fujimaki and Hiraku Higa.)


The Mainichi
2 days ago
- The Mainichi
Senior Tokyo police, prosecutor apologize to machinery maker over illegal probe
YOKOHAMA -- Two top Tokyo police and prosecution officials apologized in person to current and former executives of machinery maker Ohkawara Kakohki Co. at the latter's office here on June 20, following a high court ruling recognizing the illegality of their investigations based on allegations the company was involved in illegal exports. Tetsuro Kamata, deputy superintendent general of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Hirohide Mori, head of the public security division of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, visited the company headquarters in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, to offer a direct apology to President Masaaki Ohkawara, 76, and former director Junji Shimada, 72. The visit came after the Tokyo High Court ruling deeming the investigations by the MPD's Public Security Bureau and the Tokyo prosecution office to be unlawful was finalized. Kamata bowed his head and stated, "We deeply apologize for the great anxiety and burden caused by the investigations. We are truly sorry." Mori also offered his apologies and added, "We will strive to exercise prosecutorial powers appropriately to ensure that such incidents do not occur again." President Ohkawara responded, "It would have been preferable for this apology to come at an earlier stage. I hope that you value those who testified in court and improve the organizations: good police and good prosecution." The MPD's Public Security Bureau arrested Ohkawara, Shimada and another individual in March 2020 on suspicion of illegally exporting equipment capable of being diverted to military use in violation of the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. Tokyo prosecutors initially indicted them but subsequently dropped the charges in July 2021. While President Ohkawara and others had consistently demanded an apology from law enforcers, the MPD and the district prosecutors office had not complied on the grounds that the company had filed a state compensation suit. Their apology on June 20 came about four years after the charges against the company personnel were withdrawn. Apart from the apology, the company is also demanding that the police and prosecutors launch an investigation into their own probes with the involvement of third parties. While the MPD and the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office have announced that they will respectively examine the problems, they have suggested conducting internal investigations. The May 28 Tokyo High Court ruling recognized that the MPD's Public Security Bureau arrested the president and others by making a stretched interpretation of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's export control ordinance in a way that was far detached from international standards. "The Public Security Bureau's interpretation lacked rationality, and there were basic problems with their judgment regarding the establishment of the criminal charges," the court found. The court also ruled that the interrogations of Shimada by an inspector at the MPD's Public Security Bureau employed deceptive tactics leading to misinterpretation of ministerial ordinances. In regard to a temperature experiment on the equipment in question, conducted in an attempt to prove the unlawful export charges, the court acknowledged that the Public Security Bureau and the district prosecutors office neglected to conduct additional experiments while being aware of flaws in the initial experiment. Furthermore, the court ruled that the indictment by the district prosecutors office despite skepticism about the interpretation of the export control ordinance and the absence of extra experiments constituted "a case lacking charges for which the accused could be found guilty."


Yomiuri Shimbun
3 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Peruvian Fighter Arrested on Suspicion of Smuggling Cocaine Hidden in ‘Shohei Ohtani Bats'
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo The Metropolitan Police Department A 40-year-old Peruvian man has been arrested for smuggling cocaine hidden in baseball bats with an illustration of baseball player Shohei Ohtani on them, the Metropolitan Police Department said. The suspect, Kasai Villanueva Eduardo Yoshihiro, has competed in martial arts events in Japan. According to the MPD, Kasai and his associates are suspected of smuggling about 1.9 kilograms of cocaine with a value of about ¥47 million from the United States to Narita Airport on July 18 last year by hiding it inside 11 wooden baseball bats. Tokyo Customs discovered the bats, which had the illustration and were packed together with seven gloves, during an inspection. The MPD arrested the suspect on Wednesday.