Editing TOEIC (section)

====Scandal====
The Institute for International Business Communication (IIBC), the non-profit organization that administers the TOEIC in Japan, was the subject of a scandal in 2009.

In May and June 2009, articles in the Japanese weekly magazine ''FRIDAY'' accused the IIBC's 92-year-old chairman Yaeji Watanabe of nepotism when he appointed his girlfriend's son to the position of chairman of the IIBC board of directors. To force the appointment, half of the volunteers serving on the board were driven out by Watanabe. The magazine article also questioned why Watanabe only showed up for work about one day a week.

In his defense, Watanabe claimed that he held a ceremonial title and was chairman in name only. As a result, Watanabe claimed that he had little to do with the decision to appoint his girlfriend's son to the position. The magazine article concluded by asking why someone who is chairman in name only and works only one day a week should receive an annual salary in excess of 25 million yen (approximately US$300,000).

In August 2009, the online version of the English-language newspaper ''[[The Japan Times]]'' published a two-part series examining the TOEIC's origins and early history as well as the use of test-taker fees by the IIBC on the internet.<ref name="mccrostie-1" /><ref name="mccrostie-2">{{Cite web |last=McCrostie |first=James |date=2009-08-18 |title=TOEIC: Where does the money go? |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20090818zg.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809055031/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20090818zg.html |archive-date=2011-08-09 |access-date=2023-08-30 |website=[[The Japan Times]]}}</ref> The August 18 article examined the questionable uses of test fees, including a fivefold increase in utility expenses in one year, 13 million spent annually on research about adapting to Chinese culture, sponsorship of poetry readings by the Chinese Poetry Recitation Association, and membership fees to join the Beautiful Aging Association, for which Watanabe happened to be chairman.

The article also questioned the relationship between the IIBC and its for-profit partner International Communications School with which it shared office space. International Communications School is responsible for selling the TOEIC Institutional Program Test given by companies and schools; publishes IIBC-approved TOEIC preparation textbooks; and administers the TOEIC Japanese language website. One of International Communications School's subsidiaries is E-Communications, which administers the TOEIC's online application system and provides online TOEIC study materials.

In 2009, Watanabe suddenly resigned from the IIBC, leaving his girlfriend's son in charge of the non-profit. Watanabe received a 25 million yen retirement payment.

The IIBC lowered the price of the TOEIC Secure Program Test from 6,615 yen to 5,985 yen starting with the September 13, 2009 test. The price had to be lowered due to pressure from the Ministry of Trade, which instructed the IIBC to reduce the profits being generated by the test.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jalt.org/test/mcc_1.htm|title=The TOEIC in Japan: A scandal made in heaven by James McCrostie|first=James|last=McCrostie|access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref>

In July 2010, the Tokyo Tax Bureau announced that International Communications School, IIBC's for-profit partner, hid 100 million yen in income and had to pay 30 million yen in back taxes and fines.<ref>http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20100720p2a00m0na011000c.html{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}</ref>