Japan's standardized university entrance exam will test only reading and listening skills for English in the 2020 academic year while placing more emphasis on listening than current exams, the government-backed exam setter said Friday.

The National Center for University Entrance Examinations will stick to its plan of focusing on the two skills as released in June, though the launch of private-sector English proficiency tests has been postponed from the next academic year starting next April.

In June, the center said it would eliminate exam questions aimed at indirectly gauging writing and speaking skills in line with the introduction of private-sector tests which check reading, listening, writing and speaking skills.

Since the government decided to delay the launch of the new scheme until around the 2024 academic year, the center has been studying whether it needs to revise the content in its English-language component of the exam.

For the 2021 academic year, the center will present its exam coverage plan around June next year.