TOKYO -- Since it was announced that Japan's largest English language proficiency exam would be dropped from the list of private tests allowed for the new university entrance exam system beginning from the 2020 academic year, the test operator has been dealing with an onslaught of inquiries from high school and universities about the future of the "Eiken."

"The current Eiken test will continue to be utilized for university entrance exams. Concerning the new system, aside from operation methods, there will be no changes to the current test," read a rare statement posted on the Eiken Foundation of Japan's official website on March 30, four days after it was announced that the "Eiken" exam was not included on the list of accepted private English exams.

The Eigo Kentei, or "Eiken" (English language certification exam), is the largest domestic privately-run evaluation of English proficiency in Japan, with some 400 official testing venues nationwide and an additional roughly 17,000 quasi-venues in schools, cram schools and other facilities. The exam is held three times a year. In the 2016 academic year, some 3.4 million people signed up for the test, of which roughly 2.6 million were junior high or high school students.

The new standardized national university entrance exam accepts private English tests under the condition that they measure all four categories of reading, listening, writing and speaking in the language. However, only those who pass the written and listening first-round portion of the Eiken can move on to the second-round interview test.

The National Center for University Entrance Examinations dropped the Eiken from the list of permitted private English tests on the grounds that the current system, "Does not measure all of the test-taker's abilities in all four areas." Due to this, only three new types of Eiken testing, such as a version that requires applicants to take a speaking test regardless of whether they pass or fail the written and listening portion, have been approved for use in the new entrance exam system. The new tests are to be introduced starting this summer and into next year.

As personnel to conduct the interviews and acquiring recording equipment is a must for the new tests, the exam fee for Grade 2 and Grade Pre-2, which most junior high and high school students take, is higher than their conventional version by 1,700 yen.

So then why is the Eiken foundation being inundated with inquiries? Currently, there are 330 universities around Japan that apply the results of the ordinary Eiken to their entrance examinations. Many of these take into account whether students have acquired the certification for such levels as Grade 1 or 2 during their third or second year of high school when screening applicants. However, a source related to the foundation surmised that those calling now "are probably worried that (the results) now cannot be used for entrance exams even to those universities."

University administrations are also unsure how to handle the situation. While admissions director at Toyo University in Tokyo Kenji Kato said, "We will not stop making use of the test for the next academic year," he added, "After the new standardized exam is introduced, it's unclear how many students will continue to take the Eiken. That being said, I don't quite know if it's a good decision to stop accepting the current test, which is offered widely across the country and can be taken cheaply."

The Eiken foundation explained in its website announcement, "The question organization and grade levels of the new style of testing will be the same as the current test," meaning the level of difficulty will go unchanged.

(Japanese original by Kim Sooreyon, City News Department)