Yamagata University plans to accept applicants who were mistakenly told that they had failed entrance examinations, university officials said Wednesday.
An investigation by the national university showed more than 400 engineering department applicants, who were told between 1997 and 2001 that they had failed the exam, should have passed, officials said.
Of those who took the exam this year, 90 were mistakenly told they failed. On Wednesday, the university finished confirming with 83 of the 90 whether they still hope to enter the university.
Of the 83, 31 said they still hope to enter the university. The university had received 415 inquiries on the examination results as of Wednesday morning.
The university began the investigation May 14 after receiving an inquiry on the contents of one of the parts of the entrance exam from an applicant who took the exam this year.
The university admitted it made a mistake in its computer program adding up the points in the category in 1997. The mistake was never corrected.
The university posted an explanation on its Web site on Friday, saying a total of 90 students that were told they had failed the exam this year were actually successful, while 93 who passed should have failed.