Photo/Illutration The lenses, right, on the smart glasses used by a teenager taking a Waseda University entrance exam took photos when the button on the left was pushed. (Arata Mitsui)

A teenager who used smart glasses to cheat on the entrance exam for Tokyo’s Waseda University recruited individuals beforehand to help him answer the test questions.

According to investigative sources, before the Feb. 16 exam, the 18-year-old resident of Machida, western Tokyo, did a search on his X account using the keywords “chemistry,” “strong subject” and “difficult questions.”

He sent messages from his mobile phone to several individuals whose names popped up in the search and asked if they would serve as online tutors.

According to sources, during the Waseda exam, the teenager took photos of the test questions with his smart glasses and sent them to his tutors using a smartphone he kept hidden in his pants. He asked the tutors to send him the answers.

After the exam, he used an electronic payment service to send thousands of yen to those who sent him answers.

One of the tutors noticed something was fishy and contacted Waseda University officials.

On Feb. 21, five days after the exam for the School of Creative Science and Engineering, the teenager also sat for the entrance exam to Waseda’s School of Commerce.

University officials contacted the Metropolitan Police Department after that exam because they suspected the teenager again used smart glasses during the exam.

The teenager purchased the smart glasses over the internet. The glasses feature buttons that can be pushed to take photos.

Sources said the teenager admitted to his crime because he wanted to apologize to the other people he involved in the scheme. 

The Metropolitan Police Department on May 16 sent papers in the case to prosecutors.

Related News