Editing TOEIC (section)

==History==
The basic idea of the TOEIC test was conceived by {{nihongo|Yasuo Kitaoka|北岡靖男|Kitaoka Yasuo}}, a retired [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]] staff member who noticed a lack of English communication ability among the Japanese population.<ref name="iibc-1">{{cite web |title=TOEIC Program 誕生秘話 |url=https://www.iibc-global.org/iibc/activity/iibc_newsletter/nl144_feature_01.html |access-date=2023-08-30 |website=一般財団法人 国際ビジネスコミュニケーション協会 |publisher=IIBC |language=ja |date=October 2021}}</ref><ref name="mccrostie-1">{{Cite web |last=McCrostie |first=James |date=2009-08-11 |title=TOEIC no turkey at 30 |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20090811zg.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005182202/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20090811zg.html |archive-date=2011-10-05 |access-date=2023-08-30 |website=[[The Japan Times]]}}</ref>

He proposed the idea to the US-based [[Educational Testing Service]] (ETS), but the organization rejected him since they preferred to collaborate with nonprofit organizations.<ref name="mccrostie-1" /> He also failed to convince the [[Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology]], who had already launched [[STEP Eiken]]. Instead, Kitaoka found his close friend {{nihongo|Yaeji Watanabe|渡辺弥栄司|Watanabe Yaeji}}, a retired official from the [[Ministry of International Trade and Industry]], to support him.<ref name="iibc-1" /><ref name="mccrostie-1" />

Kitaoka and Watanabe later established {{nihongo|World Economic Information Services|財団法人世界経済情報サービス}} (WEIS), thus enabling Kitaoka to collaborate with ETS.<ref name="mccrostie-1" /><ref name="iibc-history">{{cite web |title=沿革 |url=https://www.iibc-global.org/iibc/about/history.html |access-date=2023-08-30 |website=一般財団法人 国際ビジネスコミュニケーション協会 |publisher=IIBC |language=ja}}</ref> WEIS later established a committee to develop TOEIC. The first TOEIC test was launched in 1979 and taken by 3,000 individuals.<ref name="mccrostie-1" /><ref name="iibc-history"/>

In 1986, a newly created organization, the {{nihongo|Institute for International Business Communication |財団法人国際ビジネスコミュニケーション協会|Zaidanhōjin Kokusai Bijinesu Komyunikēshon Kyōkai}} (IIBC), took over the administration of the TOEIC from WEIS.<ref name="mccrostie-1" /><ref name="iibc-history" /> In 2006, ETS released a [[#2006 redesigned TOEIC tests|new version]] of the TOEIC test.

ETS's major competitors are Cambridge University, which administers the [[IELTS]], FCE, CAE, and [[Certificate of Proficiency in English|CPE]], and [[Trinity College London]], which administers the GESE and ISE exams.