The Japanese operator of TOEIC said Tuesday it will not provide its English proficiency test as part of the country's standardized university entrance exam system due to start next April, because the process is too complicated.

Seven other tests offered by private-sector operators are still scheduled to be part of the new system.

But the withdrawal of the Institute for International Business Communication, which administers TOEIC -- the Test of English for International Communication -- is a blow to Japanese universities, and students preparing for the new exam.

"It became evident that...the process of accepting test applications, holding the tests and providing results would be far more complex than we had expected," the institute said in a statement.

"We've reached the conclusion that it is difficult to respond in a responsible manner," it said.

TOEIC consists of one listening and reading test, and a speaking and writing test. The two tests are held on different days, and candidates must make separate applications to sit them.

An IIBC official said it was asked by the National Center for University Entrance Examinations to hold the two tests closer together, but decided this would be too difficult.

The center said the institute is the only organization withdrawing, and that it plans to sign a contract by the end of July with the six operators administering the other seven tests.

An education ministry survey of high-school students last year found about 2 percent who said they would take a private-sector English test in the 2020 academic year, expected to sit the TOEIC exam.

Source: ANNnewsCH