Today I took the Kanjikentei level 4. Now, an interesting thing about the Kanjikentei these days is that, just like almost every other organization in Japan, there is a scandal. Apparently the founder of the society along with several members of his family set up some companies to illegally do business with each other and thereby profit handsomely off all of us trusting test-takers. The latest I’ve heard is that the society has been taken over by some lawyers who have promised to make reforms within 100 days.

So, here’s what I received in the mail yesterday, the day before I took the test:

A registered letter, basically a notice that they’re lowering all the fees because of the scandal, they apologize profusely, of course, and hope we can continue to participate in the future. And here’s a refund of 200 yen for this round of tests. Woo hoo!

In actuality, I don’t really care very much about this scandal. What’s new, you know. But apparently about 30% fewer people are taking this round of tests. And the number of kids there today bore that out.

As for the test itself, just like with level 5, it will be very very close as to whether I pass or not. It’s exactly how close I am to my thinking whether I should leave or stay here a while longer. I am really torn. Like the difference between 139 and 140 points torn.