The annual unified college entrance examinations held across Japan this weekend saw nearly 560,000 applicants and a record 849 public and private schools take part.
Applicants were tested on science and math on Sunday, following tests on social studies, geography, history, the Japanese language and foreign languages on Saturday.
The number of applicants for this year's examinations fell by 1,540 from last year to 559,132, including 455,392 high school students graduating in March, according to the National Center for University Entrance Examinations.
The examinations marked the start of the annual competition among students seeking to go to four-year and two-year universities ahead of the April start of the 2015 academic year.
Exams were delayed by an hour at Hokkaido Information University in Ebetsu due to heavy snow. There was a similar delay at one other venue in Hokkaido.
In Chiba and Tokyo, 100 students were allowed to begin the exam 30 to 100 minutes later than others because they were delayed by an accident on the Keisei Line. Five others were allowed to reschedule the exams.