With its overhaul of English-language teaching faltering, the education ministry on Friday said it would introduce a new nationwide exam for third-year junior high school students.
The reading, listening, speaking and writing assessments based on an international proficiency index will begin in fiscal 2019.
The ministry will also urge each prefecture to set individual goals for improving English skills and publish their results.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.