ChatGPT trounces humans in entrance exams for top Japan university, study finds

The Japan Times 

AI models surpassed the highest score recorded for a human test taker in this year's University of Tokyo entrance exam, a new study shows. If an artificial intelligence model such as ChatGPT had taken the entrance exams for Japan's top university in 2026, it would have been assessed as top of the class and admitted for scoring higher than any human test takers, a study by AI startup LifePrompt has found. The research used three major AI models -- ChatGPT 5.2 Thinking by OpenAI, Gemini 3 Pro Preview by Google and Claude Opus 4.5 by Anthropic -- and had them take the actual entrance exam used by the University of Tokyo in February 2026 to assess candidates for courses set to start in April. The university's category 3 science exam, often taken by those who want to enter the institution's medical school, is considered the most difficult exam to pass in Japan. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.