Photo/Illutration The Asahi Shimbun

Two Chinese nationals were arrested on Oct. 11 on suspicion of stealing the questions on an exam widely taken by foreign students to enter Japanese universities.

Police said the pair used fake names to sit for the test and snapped photos of it with cameras hidden in eyeglasses and also stole sections of the test paper they ripped out.

The Metropolitan Police Department announced that it had arrested Zheng Zhonghui, 32, a high-ranking official of a Tokyo cram school, and Zhang Yikai, 22, a third-year student at Waseda University, on suspicion of using fraudulent means to obstruct business.

The Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) holds the Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU) in Japan and abroad. The increasing popularity of studying at a Japanese university led to a record 32,000 or so prospective students sitting for the most recent exam in June.

According to police, Zhang worked part time at the cram school and was told by Zheng to take the exam.

Zhang took the exam on a number of occasions because those at the cram school wanted to inflate its achievements.

The arrest was made in connection with the exam held on June 16 between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Zhang used eyeglasses with a built-in camera to photograph the exam questions and is also suspected of interfering with JASSO operations by ripping up the exam questions and leaving the exam room with bits of the test.

The data Zhang photographed was sent to someone outside the exam while it was going on who then sent the data to Zheng via their computer.

Zheng has denied the allegations.

But police said they found a number of cameras built into eyeglasses and pens at Zheng's home and the cram school.

Zhang was paid 10,000 yen ($93) for each test taken.

The exam consists of several sections, which include Japanese language, science and math. An English version is available for all parts except the Japanese language section.

Universities use the exam as part of their admission process for prospective students. It is held in June and November in Japan and abroad, mainly in Asian nations such as India and Thailand.

(This article was written by Chihaya Inagaki and Yuko Kawasaki.)