For the 2026 High School Equivalency Examination, "Information Technology" was added as a new required subject. The examination is held twice a year, in August and November. The trends and explanations of the major questions related to "Information Technology" in the first examination have been published on the blog of the Information Processing Society of Japan's journal, "Information Processing." This publication coincided with the announcement of the first examination results on September 1, 2026.
The High School Equivalency Examination is a national examination that determines whether individuals who have not graduated from high school possess academic abilities equivalent to or higher than those of high school graduates. Those who pass receive qualifications equivalent to those of high school graduates. Until 2004, it was called the "University Entrance Qualification Examination (Daiken)." The number of applicants for the first examination of the 2026 academic year was 9,247, which is not a significant decrease compared to the first examination of the previous year (9,605), despite the addition of subjects.
The exam consists of 12 subjects in total. From the 2026 academic year, "Information Technology" will be added as a compulsory subject, bringing the total to 7 subjects (① Japanese Language ② English ③ Mathematics ④ Geography ⑤ History ⑥ Public Affairs ⑦ Information Technology). Students will choose 2 to 3 elective subjects from 5 subjects (⑧ Science and Human Life ⑨ Basic Physics ⑩ Basic Chemistry ⑪ Basic Biology ⑫ Basic Earth Science). Students are required to pass all compulsory and elective subjects, but subject exemptions may be granted if the necessary credits have been obtained in high school.
The newly mandatory subject, "Information Technology," deals with fundamental knowledge of information technology, including digital literacy and programming, which are essential in modern society. "Information Technology I" is already a compulsory subject in the high school curriculum guidelines, and it was included in the Common University Entrance Examination to be held in January 2025. Following this trend, it has also been decided that "Information Technology" will be a compulsory subject in the High School Equivalency Examination.
reference:[Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology] High School Equivalency Examination (formerly the University Entrance Qualification Examination)
[note] [Information Processing Society of Japan, Journal "Information Processing"] Regarding the programming questions in the first High School Equivalency Examination "Information" for the 2026 academic year -
