Japan's new university entrance exams begin

Maybe in 4 years companies will be hiring again, so yeah, good luck to new university students!

3-4 years of fun and drinking, sports and travel, maybe learn something, maybe not, but develop a network of close friends, who will remain in contact with you for the rest of your life.

Join a company, forget whatever you may have learned; they'll teach you what you need in the first few months with intensive fresher courses, and most importantly the unwritten corporate customs.

Enjoy yourselves kids, it's the last chance you'll ever have!

I really feel for these kids. Not just because they have to take these tests, but the last year of school must’ve been difficult.

Weird scenario. The future students are held back by "rules" and an a adversity to change. Not really a progressive education system. At least this might thin out future politicians. Mind you in 50 years the same idiots will be in charge. Family first not skill.

Weird scenario. The future students are held back by "rules" and an a adversity to change. Not really a progressive education system. 

My school and professional experiences suggest that such "progressive" education can't necessarily be attained at school. Compulsory education is particularly the case as its system is standardized and highly structured at expense of diversity and innovative potentials. Individual students grow and get mature at different pace in terms of learning.

I propose that the underage limits be lifted for university entrance exams, enabling talent young to skip grades and classes (and to save money) to reach higher education faster. In the meantime "revolving-door" career development between school and work should be encouraged so that even drop-outs would be able to come back on the track anytime at will. That would lead to diversity on campus as well as in society.

Japan is still a conformist culture, likely to stress collective action: people (should) enter and finish school, start jobhunting and career almost at the same time and en masse. Notice, such are also a big risk of forming crowds vulnerable to infectious diseases.

The exams, which replaced the National Center Test for University Admissions, drew a total of 535,245 applicants and are taking place at 681 venues,

How many of these will become niito or hikikomori after they realize their ( real ) freedom is coming to an end. Just a few I hope. Japanese students need to endure a lot of pressure and I wish all their hard work would have a better fate. Good luck to all the students and be strong.

9/10 in that hall will still need to struggle hard all their life.

Your dreams will come true or false or any value between...lol

Just an aside, but I took my university entrance exam in the room shown in the picture in 1998. Very nostalgic. But there were no Xs on the tables, and as I remember, there were 3 people per table the year I sat for the exams.

I wish the best of luck to all students taking entrance exams.

Corollary to the above: if there were more public universities (as well as public high schools of equal reputation), the bottom line of the juku industry would collapse.

Going to be multiple clusters arising from this. There's no way they can keep people safe in an enclosed indoor place for several hours straight even with masks, the virus concentration in the air will continue to rise over time and will be infectious enough for the whole room if there's only a single asymptomatic carrier.

P. Smith,

Thanks for shedding light on an unequivacally evident truth in Japan now as epitomized by and seen in PM Suga and his former bosses.

Korean, Hongkongnese and Taiwanese counterparts, on the other hand, spend hours practicing composition skills for their test-taking not limited to language subjects. No wonder Japanese youth are no match against young neighbors who are trained in developing logics that ought be stimulated while hot. They will lator be unable to utter a second or third sentence any more than Donald Trump has been. Only oratorical single phrases are repeated for the comfort of themselves.

Youngsters deserve a better chance of grading in thinking and developing their flow of thought to build their character. Sensible educators should have alarmed a long time ago. Instead they make no bones about attending lucrative meetings prepared and organized by the government officials: another tax money in the drain. Unlaborious tests nonetheless result in Japan's death in global economy. Multiple-choice tests lead to the spoiling of next generaions, no matter how nonchalantly the educators spare their rods.

My friend Smith, I have taken the first TOEFL when I was in my 30s, 2nd in 40s, and 3rd in 50s. The score intervals among them were 35 points or more. The more you take, the better: The same story with composition. It is only a test that should not be taken any more than that: Japan is too lazy to survive in digital age.

Wish them stay safe and good luck.

So they were unable to figure out how to administer the exams virtually?

It'd take much time to shift testing services fully online. Just look at the case of ETS (offering TOEFL, TOEIC, etc.). But I like the idea which I hope will be materialized anytime soon, regardless of the current pandemic.

Just use the marks they obtained over 3 years of high school.

Just use the marks they obtained over 3 years of high school.

According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, there were 786 universities of all types in the year 2019: 86 national, 93 public, and 607 private (88.2% of the total, and 94.6%of enrollees). A full 80% of students who matriculated at national and public universities in 2020 had to take the National Center Test, followed by the individual university's own exam. Suisen recommendation and AO entrance options accounted for the remaining 20% at these institutions.

So they were unable to figure out how to administer the exams virtually? They can make the testing centers difficult to spread the virus, by enforcing the distance and ventilation, checking temperatures and using hand sanitizers, but then all of these students will crowd back into the same trains from the nearest station and have their super-spreader event right there. Especially when they are tired and weak from the let down and exhaustion after the long tests.