University entrance exams kick off

The national unified college entrance examinations began Saturday, with more than 550,000 applicants and a record-high 835 public and private institutions taking part.

The exams mark the start of an annual competition for spots in two- and four-year universities for the start of the 2012 academic year in April.

Total applicants fell by 3,447 from last year to 555,537, and included 439,713 high school students scheduled to graduate in March, according to the National Center for University Entrance Examinations, an affiliate of the education ministry.

In a special measure this year, the center offered testing fee exemptions for applicants affected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The fee is either ¥12,000 or ¥18,000.

The government began organizing unified exams for national and municipal government-run colleges in 1979 and upgraded them in 1990 for use also by private colleges.