Photo/Illutration An illegal operation offers forged official certificates, including residence cards for foreign nationals, My Number personal identification cards and driver’s licenses. (Captured from the website)

A 39-year-old woman was referred to prosecutors on July 24 by Tokyo police on suspicion of forging a score certificate for the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC).

The woman, from Kanazawa, reportedly intended to submit the fake document to her employer to meet internal qualification standards for an overseas assignment.

The woman is accused of conspiring with two Chinese men in their 30s to produce the forged certificate at an apartment in Tokyo’s Ota Ward in April.

She has admitted to the allegations.

The Metropolitan Police Department referred the case to prosecutors and recommended severe penalties.

The two men have already been indicted for immigration law violations.

Although the woman had taken the TOEIC exam at a Tokyo test site in March, she did not earn a high enough score.

Then, she reportedly found a document forgery service online operated by the Chinese suspects.

She paid 160,000 yen ($1,090) to the illegal business to obtain a fake score report for the language test.

Police discovered a fake TOEIC certificate bearing the woman’s name and photo when they searched the apartment in April.

The forged score was in the high 800s out of a possible 990 and had been packaged in a postal envelope for delivery.

Investigators also found other counterfeit certificates, including those for licensed real estate agents and the Test in Practical English Proficiency, commonly known as Eiken.

The alleged customers include both Japanese nationals and foreign individuals.

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