More and more, Japanese-language requirements are being added to more residence statuses. As a result, people need proof of proficiency; naturally, they flock to the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) to get it.
However, this has resulted in demand for the exam getting so out of control that seats are disappearing left and right. So, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is asking its certified Japanese-language schools to consider alternatives to the JLPT.
According to Kyodo News, this is the first time the ministry has made such a request. The ministry’s concern is practical: the JLPT is becoming difficult to operate at its current scale. But while other Japanese tests exist, the JLPT is still the only exam accepted across all of the government’s Japanese-language requirements.
The JLPT: limited seats running out of room
The JLPT is Japan’s main standardized Japanese-language exam. It has five levels ranging from N5 (the easiest) to N1 (the most advanced). It is held just twice a year, in July and December.
Demand has been climbing quickly. December 2025 was the first sitting to attract more than one million applicants worldwide, with 1,049,597 people applying across 81 countries and regions, as well as Japan’s 47 prefectures. Applications in Japan rose 23.4% from the previous year. N2 and N3 applications, in particular, jumped by 33.7% and 31.0%, respectively.
The July 2026 sitting was also enormous, with 943,671 applicants worldwide, the highest number for a July sitting ever. Applications from inside Japan reached 376,028, up 6.9%.
The thing is, there are only so many classrooms and testing venues available on each of the two dates each year. Competition is fierce, and preparations are intense.
For the December 2026 test, organizers warned that applications could close early due to venue capacity limits. Registration opened on August 24, with a September 7 deadline. Instead, N3, N4, and N5 closed nationwide at noon on August 27, just three days after registration began. N1 and N2 followed at noon on August 31, a week before the deadline. N3 briefly reopened in Tokyo and Osaka at 10 a.m. on September 2, but Osaka closed again at 10:41 a.m. and Tokyo at 11:20 a.m.
And if you need a particular JLPT level for a residence application, missing that three-day window isn’t just a minor scheduling inconvenience.
Why the test suddenly matters more
So, what kind of Japanese-language requirements are there, and where?
Let’s look at the Business Manager visa, for example. Since October 2025, it requires either the applicant or a full-time employee to have B2-level Japanese (B2 signifying some professional fluency, not just conversational). This can be demonstrated with JLPT N2 or higher, though some other routes are available. Those include a score of 400 or more on the Business Japanese Proficiency Test (BJT) and certain Japanese educational qualifications.
For another example, since April 2026, certain customer-facing jobs under the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services status have also required B2 Japanese. JLPT N2 and the BJT are among the ways applicants can demonstrate it.
And more requirements are coming. Some might see it as a good thing since, after all, if you’re living in a foreign country, you should be able to speak its language. But there are many levels of fluency, and given how many foreigners work in elderly care in Japan, too many unnecessary requirements could put the country in hot water.
From April 2027, Specified Skilled Worker (ii) will require B1-level Japanese. Among the tests currently listed for that purpose, only the JLPT offers the relevant level. JANE, a Japanese business organization, has argued that the existing testing environment has already reached its limit and has proposed a B1-level JFT-Basic, additional JLPT sittings, or both.
Permanent residency is, potentially, another case. A draft guideline published in August 2026 says B1 Japanese would become a factor considered in permanent-residency applications filed from April 2027. But in all fairness, it doesn’t necessarily require applicants to pass the JLPT, and it includes exemptions. It’s not even the most stringent requirement.
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Other tests already exist
The irony is that the Japanese government already recognizes several Japanese-language tests. For international students entering university, there’s JLPT N2 or higher, a Japanese score of 200 or more on the Examination for Japanese University Admission (EJU), 400 or more on the BJT, or 525 or more on the Japanese Proficiency Test (JPT).
Unfortunately, those alternatives don’t transfer neatly across the immigration system. The JLPT is the one test that appears across the various Japanese-language requirements. Other exams aren’t necessarily disregarded, but they’re not guaranteed to tick the most important boxes.
That leaves students and workers in an awkward position. A person can demonstrate Japanese proficiency through another examination but still need the JLPT because the specific residence status they’re applying for doesn’t recognize the alternative.
What happens next?
This brings us back to the ministry’s request to language schools to use alternative, existing tests. That way, with students from those schools being redirected, it would presumably open up a bit more space for those who can’t choose an alternative to the JLPT to fill job or visa requirements.
Many commenters online have also pointed out that the JLPT doesn’t capture a person’s ability to speak Japanese. It only covers listening and reading comprehension, so a person could theoretically ace the N1 level but be completely unable to join a conversation. Meanwhile, someone who can’t even pass N5 might speak very well.
Others suggested increasing the current JLPT fee of ¥7,500 (~$47.75), or implementing pre-screening. And still more say that the best solution is simply to have more JLPT sittings per year, perhaps three or four instead of just two. After all, isn’t it a little ridiculous for the government to demand schools take responsibility when they created the problem by adding visa requirements?
The ministry is right to be concerned about the bottleneck occurring. Its current solution, asking others to choose alternatives where they can, isn’t the worst, but it likely won’t be enough, and it remains to be seen how the situation will resolve.
Keep reading
Sources
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高等教育機関等へ入学するための日本語能力について Immigration Services Agency
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日本語能力試験 2026年7月試験 実施概要 JLPT
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4つの特徴 JLPT