Japanese youngsters may no longer have to endure the ritual of "entrance exam hell" and specialize in cramming for either high school or university admissions tests if the Education Ministry's planned reforms are implemented.

Education Minister Akito Arima said Friday his ministry will revise a School Education Law provision later this month that obliges high schools to choose applicants based on entrance exam results or junior high school report cards, or both.

This revision may allow high school applicants in 2000 to enter some high schools based only on essays and interviews. "We need to diversify the form of (high school) admission measures, as most junior high school students today proceed to high schools," Arima said, stressing that students' achievements in such areas as sports and volunteer activities should be more heavily weighed.

Arima also asked his advisory panel, the Central Council for Education, the same day to study ways to reform the current university entrance system, including changes to be made on standardized admissions exams.

Currently, all public universities use standard exams to select their students. One department of Iwate Prefectural University plans to become the first to stop administering the exam next year. The panel will compile a report on reform proposals in a year, with recommended changes expected to be enforced no later than 2005.