Mr. Noboru Okubo and his eldest son have resigned respectively as chief director and vice director of the Kyoto-based Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation over irregularities related to its operations, including the accumulation of unusually large profits for a public-interest corporation and opaque business transactions with four firms headed by Mr. Okubo or his eldest son.
In fiscal 2008, some 2.86 million people sat for the kanken (kanji certification) tests sponsored by the foundation, which was established in 1975 by Mr. Okubo. It also holds the annual "Kanji of the Year" event at Kyoto's Kiyomizu-dera Temple.
In a report to the education ministry, which oversees the foundation, the foundation promised to lower test fees, include lawyers and certified public accountants among trustees and introduce external auditing, among other things. But the foundation needs to do more to regain the public's trust.