A high school student last month received an erroneous notification that he had passed an entrance examination for Tokyo Metropolitan University, sources revealed Monday.
The university has acknowledged the mistake. A university official said the matter "is still under negotiation because we haven't reached a settlement with the student."
The university said it can't admit the student just because he received the "passed" message.
A list of identification numbers of people who passed the exam was posted at its Hachioji campus Dec. 2 and documents necessary for enrollment were immediately sent out.
But a university employee apparently got a wrong number and sent documents to the student, even though he knew he had failed after he didn't find his number on the list, the sources said.
University officials later apologized to the student, his family and his high school, the sources said.