My first reaction to this news was, “How could that even be possible?”
I’ve personally taken the TOEIC several times, and from my experience, there are always at least three to five test proctors walking around the room. And of course, the testing environment is always very quiet.
But according to the article, the man who was arrested was likely whispering answers through a tiny microphone hidden under his surgical mask. In such a quiet room, even a hushed voice would probably echo a little. So I’m honestly surprised that no one noticed anything suspicious during the test.
But that being said, most of the test proctors are just part-time workers.
And since cheating on the TOEIC is so rare—at least as far as I know—they might have let their guard down, assuming that nothing like this would ever happen.
It’s possible that no one was seriously watching for suspicious behavior because they just didn’t expect it.
Actually, this case is suspected to be part of an organized crime group, and it’s also raised concerns about how weak the anti-cheating measures are for TOEIC exams in Japan.
From what I’ve read, one of the reasons behind this large-scale cheating by Chinese nationals is China’s sluggish economy. (Of course, the Chinese government would never admit it). It’s really hard for young people in China to find jobs right now. So an increasing number of Chinese students are trying to enter graduate schools in Japan, and TOEIC scores are often used as official proof of English ability, and makes it easier for them to pass entrance exams.
It's well known that academic background is highly valued in countries like China and South Korea. So compared to Japan, organized cheating seems to be more common there. At the same time, the security measures to prevent cheating in those countries are actually much stricter than in Japan.
But what’s even more surprising is that it’s not just TOEIC—there are also a lot of cheating cases in Japanese language tests for foreigners. In those cases, I read that most of the people who get caught are Vietnamese. From what I found, many Vietnamese people want to work in Japan, and they try to get high scores on these language tests to improve their chances, even if it means cheating.
Since this cheating case came to light, it sounds like the security before and during the test has become a lot stricter. Of course, preventing cheating is important, but honestly, I feel like organized crime groups will always find some unexpected loophole and keep going. So in a way, it is just like playing "Whac-a-mole".
I do think it’s important to think about how to prevent cheating, but maybe it’s even more important to rethink the test itself. For example, TOEIC only measures listening and reading skills, so a lot of people question whether it’s really the best way to assess someone’s overall English ability in the first place.
If we stopped using TOEIC as an official certificate for university entrance exams and switched to something else—like Eiken or TOEFL, which include a speaking section—it might help reduce cheating. Speaking tests are harder to cheat on, so I think that could be a better option.
