Official web site of JPT　(Japanese Proficiency Test)

What is JPT(Japanese Proficiency Test)?

JPT is a test for certification that is targeted to people whose mother tongue is not Japanese to pursue further studies in Japan’s educational institution which has been acknowledge by Japan’s Immigration Services Agency. JPT was held and developed with a goal of measuring communication ability objectively, including business and daily life situation. JPT was first introduced in 1985, and has been held for more than 340 times in South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and has more than 100.000 applicants annually.

Differences from JLPT

JLPT is held by an affiliated organization of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also known as Japan Foundation. It is held twice annually and consists of level N1-N5 a 5 grade evaluation, and candidates need to wait for 2 months until the result announcement. On the other hand, JPT (Japanese Proficiency Test) is held 12 times a year, and scores will be shown with the units of 5 score, results will be announced after 2 weeks. The test can be applied whenever, and how many times the candidates want to measure their ability. And since JPT has a maximum score of 990, it can be used to apply for certain occupation that needs a sophisticated Japanese skills. JPT evaluation’s does not determine the pass and failure of test, instead it will accurately measure the ability comparison of the candidates.

JPT and JLPT’s Table of Comparison

	JPT	JLPT
Evaluation method	Non grade evaluation with 990 maximum score	N1-N5 a 5 grade evaluation
Test frequency	12 times a year	Twice a year
Result announcement	In 2 weeks time	Around 2 months
Level comparison	Score above 660 points	N1
	Score above 525 points	N2
	Score above 430 points	N3
	Score above 375 points	N4
	Score above 315 points	N5

Features of JPT

Maximum score of 990 points type test

One test for all level

Test will be 12 times a year, and 2 weeks for result announcement

Acknowledged certification needed to enter Japanese educational institution

35 years track record in South Korea

Around 100.000 participants annually in Asia

Question structure and content measurement

JPT’s question structure is the same as TOEIC®, which will be 100 questions for listening, and 100 questions for reading, in total of 200 questions. Since questions will be changed for every time the test is held, JPT uses a high dimensional Item Response Theory to adjust the difficulty level so there will be no difference in the evaluation standard just like TOEIC® and TOEFL®.

	Part	Number of questions	Content measurement	Score
Listening (45 minutes)	Describing pictures	20 questions	To measure one’s listening ability and immediate decision-making ability by looking at pictures while listening to the recording, and choose a correct answer from 4 available picture options. Also a part to get used to the recording.	495 points
	Question and Answer period	30 questions	To measure the ability to quickly respond to a conversation by listening to short conversation recordings, and choose a correct answer.
	Dialogue sentence	30 questions	To measure the ability to catch the situation, contents’ outline and detail information correctly by listening to the conversation.
	Explanation sentence	20 questions	A part where candidates will listen to a long narration, and answer 3-4 questions about the content of the narration to measure the ability to understand narration contents.
Reading (50 minutes)	Finding the correct answer	20 questions	To measure one’s basic Japanese knowledge by evaluating Japanese kanji literacy including reading, writing, general grammar and vocabularies.	495 points
	Error correction	20 questions	Indirectly measure one’s ability to compose a basic sentence by choosing an answer from 4 underlined vocabulary or sentence which is wrongly used.
	Fill in the blanks	30 questions	To measure one’s ability to compose complete sentences by completing the blanks from certain passages correctly. This part’s goal is the same as the Error correction’s which is to measure one’s basic sentences composition ability.
	Reading	30 questions	To measure one’s ability to understand the flow of conversations and detail expressions by reading various long passages.
Total		200 questions		990 points

Test Schedule

Test frequency	Test date	Test site	Registration period
The 346th	January 31st, 2021 (Sunday)	Tokyo, Osaka	November 25th, 2020 (Wednesday) – December 25th, 2020 (Friday)
The 347th	February 21st, 2021 (Sunday)	Tokyo, Aichi, Chiba, Kyoto	December 21st, 2020 (Monday) – January 21st, 2021 (Thursday)
The 348th	March 21st, 2021 (Sunday)	Tokyo, Osaka, Kanagawa	January 22nd, 2021 (Friday) – February 22nd, 2021 (Monday)
The 349th	April 18th, 2021 (Sunday)	Tokyo, Osaka, Shizuoka	February 18th, 2021 (Thursday) – March 18th, 2021 (Thursday)
The 350th	May 16th, 2021 (Sunday)	Tokyo, Fukuoka, Hyogo	March 16th, 2021 (Tuesday) – April 16th, 2021 (Friday)
The 351th	June 20th, 2021 (Sunday)	Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi	April 20th, 2021 (Tuesday) – May 20th, 2021 (Thursday)
The 352th	July 18th, 2021 (Sunday)	Tokyo, Kanagawa, Kyoto	May 18th, 2021 (Tuesday) – June 18th, 2021 (Friday)
The 353th	August 15th, 2021 (Sunday)	Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi	June 15th, 2021 (Tuesday) – July 15th, 2021 (Thursday)
The 354th	September 12th, 2021 (Sunday)	Tokyo, Chiba, Hyogo	July 12th, 2021 (Monday) – August 12th, 2021 (Thursday)
The 355th	October 17th, 2021 (Sunday)	Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka	August 17th, 2021 (Tuesday) – September 17th, 2021 (Friday)
The 356th	November 14th, 2021 (Sunday)	Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi, Shizuoka	September 14th, 2021 (Tuesday) – October 14th, 2021 (Thursday)
The 357th	December 26th, 2021 (Sunday)	Tokyo, Osaka	October 26th, 2021 (Tuesday) – November 26th, 2021 (Friday)

Test procedure

Test registration method

Admission ticket confirmation method

step1

Download the Software

JPT app is necessary to register for JPT. The app can be used for registration, and to view test results for JPT (Japanese Proficiency Test). Create an account after downloading the app.

step2

Test registration

Select desired date, and place, and upload your picture.
※Picture uploaded will be used in the report. Please select a picture of you wearing suits or clean clothing.

step3

Test fee payment

Barcode shown in the app (Smartphone only※) can be used to complete the payment by bringing it to a convenient store.
※Tablet can not be used

Test day

Please come to the registered test site

※Since test site might be changed due to the number of applicants, notice will be given at most 2 weeks before the test date.

Testimonial

NHU
(Vietnam,
Japanese language school student)

Since JPT covers all the question from JLPT’s N1-N5 questions, I can confirm my own Japanese ability, which is a great thing. And since I have the score of 695, I can apply to my university of choice which the minimum requirement is 600. I really think it will be great if more vocational school and university that use JPT certification as their application requirement. I feel that Japanese’s plain form is much harder than polite form after I took JPT, and I also feel that I need to improve my Kanji. In the future, I will use all my experiences, and Japanese ability earned to manage my own company after I return to Vietnam one day.

NHUT
(Vietnam,
Japanese language school student)

I started learning Japanese from my thoughts of wanting to study IT related things in Japan that I love so much, and my interest towards Japanese culture in the first place. I wanted to apply to a vocational school where I can learn Web Engineering, and I feel really glad after I received tuition fee reduction after I provided my vocational school my 775 JPT score. My vocational school once said that it will be advantageous to students to take JPT since it is held many times. I will put more effort in learning since I felt that my business Japanese skill is not enough and also I want to be a Web Engineer in Japan.

LIM LI SING SARAH LILIAN
(Singapore, University student)

My goal is to be able to land myself on a Japanese manufacture company and I want to be able to speak my mind freely using Japanese inside the company. I have compared several Japanese certification tests, and I feel that JPT is more approved in businesses aspect since JPT uses more business Japanese. I really want to be able to speak Japanese in various circumstances, not only in daily life, but including certain special situations too in the future.

KHAOKOM PHATSARAKORN
(Thailand, University student)

I started learning Japanese because there are a lot of Japanese company in Thailand, and I want to work for them. I really think JPT is a good certification test since we do not have to worry about passing or failing, and we can measure out ability, and we can still use the score to a certain degree even if it is not high enough. And I can understand which part of my Japanese skill is not enough by making this test a reference to myself. I really want to be able to use honorific form and learn business Japanese in the future.

FAQ

Inquiries about other Japanese certification test like JLPT, EJU: JPT is only managed by General Incorporated Association of Japanese Proficiency Test Implementation Committee. For further questions about JPT, can be viewed in the FAQ. Inquiries about other certification tests can be inquired to the respective organization (JLPT management organization, EJU management organization, etc)
Can JPT be taken by beginner, score below 400 for instance?: JPT can be taken by anyone from 0 knowledge of the language itself to the level close to native speaker since we will be scoring from 10-990 points. Which means people who just started to learn, until people who want to show their sophisticated communication ability can take the test. The thing is, JPT has various questions ranging from the easiest to the hardest with the same ratio amount. Because of that, even if the applicants can not answer all question, they can still measure their own ability.
Can JPT be used to apply for Specific Skilled Worker Visa?: JPT is acknowledge by the Immigration Services Agency to apply to Japanese educational institution. But unfortunately, it still can not be used to apply for Specific Skilled Worker visa. We are working towards it.
What kind of question will be there? Can I look at the sample questions?: You can view the sample questions here. For people who want to view more of the questions, past examination questions collected in JPT official guidebook can be purchased. This is the purchase form.
When can we know the test site?: In the case of JPT taken in Japan, We will send notices around 2 weeks before the test day through the app and E-mail.
How long is the validity period of JPT certification?: Validity period of JPT is 2 years.
In what way can JPT certificate be used in job hunt?: JPT is a test to measure and confirm one’s Japanese communication ability. JPT can be used to hunt job in various corporation depending on the minimum score requirement for each corporation. Please use JPT as a reference to your Japanese skill. Please refer to this page to view JPT score prospective employer.

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