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Many people wanting to work in Japan find themselves stymied by language requirements that can be vague and confusing, as there is no single, clear-cut system used in Japan to define foreigners’ language proficiencies.
There are a few systems commonly used to measure language proficiency: a colloquial system, the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Unfortunately, no potential employer is guaranteed to use one—or even any—of these systems. If they want someone who has “business-level” Japanese and you consider yourself only “conversational,” does that mean that you should skip applying?
We’ll examine some common systems that employers use to assess your Japanese language proficiency and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each. While you do not need to have specific certifications, it is important to understand what types of metrics employers may use when reviewing your application and resume.
Language proficiency metrics
Colloquial assessment
TokyoDev is not a Japanese language authority, but we do our best to understand employers’ expectations of candidates and accurately portray those in our job postings. These are the colloquial assessments of language proficiencies that we use on our job listings:
- No Japanese Required
- Basic Japanese: You can ask and answer simple questions in Japanese.
- Conversational Japanese: You can have casual conversations in Japanese about topics like current events, work, and yourself. You can get the gist of most conversations on non-technical subjects.
- Business Japanese: You can use Japanese in the workplace. You may sometimes make minor mistakes or need occasional assistance on technical matters, but communication is smooth.
- Fluent Japanese: You can use the Japanese language fluently and accurately on all levels and as normally pertinent to professional needs.
These are all measurements of language proficiency that people often use in conversation. While this assessment is flexible, and thus great for covering cases where multiple potential employers have varying requirements, that flexibility can make it difficult to self-assess.
For example, how simple are “simple questions”? Some people might consider “Is that a cat?” to be a simple question, but others may consider that a bare step above “No Japanese Required.” One employer may believe, “May I take leave tomorrow morning to go to immigration?” is a simple question, while another may think that’s either “Conversational Japanese” or “Business Japanese.”
Even the phrase “Business Japanese” has different interpretations, with some people considering it a level under fluency, but others considering it to be parallel to or even above “Fluent Japanese.” Some people will argue that even many Japanese people need to study keigo—humble and honorific speech used in professional contexts.
The advantage of colloquial assessments is that they are the most inclusive and do not require anyone to take a special test or receive a certification. However, colloquial assessments are very subjective, which leads to lapses in shared understanding where one person may consider themselves to be “conversational,” but others may consider them to be “fluent.”
It’s clear that there is a place for a more objective, standardized assessment.
JLPT assessment
A more objective system from an actual language authority is the JLPT, the levels of which range from N5 (most basic) to N1 (most advanced).
- N5: The ability to understand some basic Japanese.
- N4: The ability to understand basic Japanese.
- N3: The ability to understand Japanese used in everyday situations to a certain degree.
- N2: The ability to understand Japanese used in everyday situations, and in a variety of circumstances to a certain degree.
- N1: The ability to understand Japanese used in a variety of circumstances.
If you look at the descriptions on the site, they add detailed expectations in terms of reading and listening and also provide examples, such as “able to read written materials with profound contents.”
Why doesn’t everyone just use this system? Unfortunately, there are two major issues with using JLPT levels: they’re not well-known in Japan, and their definitions of skills are incomplete.
The JLPT is a standardized test meant for Japanese learners, which means that native Japanese speakers are almost guaranteed to never encounter it in their daily lives. The name of the test itself in Japanese (日本語能力試験, nihongo nouryoku shiken) is self-explanatory: it means “Japanese Proficiency Test,” but Japanese people won’t understand the contents of it or know what a level like “N3” means unless they’ve already had prior experience working with or hiring foreigners.
The second issue is a bit more serious: while the JLPT covers reading and listening, those are only half of the four basic language skills and exclude writing and speaking. It is perfectly possible for someone to achieve N1—the highest assessed level of the JLPT, defined as “the ability to understand Japanese used in a variety of circumstances”—and not be able to communicate in Japanese.
This is because the JLPT is a multiple-choice test that purposefully only tests the passive skills of reading and listening. Someone could be a fantastic reader, but not be able to speak or write at the same level. In fact, this is a relatively common situation for people who overfocus on studying for the JLPT. They will have trained themselves to be great at reading and listening because those are critical to scoring highly and passing the JLPT, but their writing and speaking skills will have been left in the dust.
This means that any employer who asks for candidates with a certain JLPT level faces at least two fundamental problems:
- They may be ignoring candidates who have suitable Japanese abilities, but have not taken the JLPT.
- They may be filtering for candidates who have test-appropriate reading and listening abilities, but no actual Japanese communication ability.
Clearly the JLPT, while more objective than colloquial assessment, is still an imperfect measure of a candidate’s language skills.
CEFR assessment
The third and final system we’ll review here is the CEFR, which presents language proficiency in a set of six detailed levels, ranging from A1 (basic) to C2 (advanced). Their chart is so detailed—it covers the areas of range, accuracy, fluency, interaction, and coherence—that in the interests of space, I don’t want to reproduce it here.
This is clearly a deeply thought-out system for assessing language proficiency, so why can’t we use it in Japan? The major problem facing the CEFR in Japan is a lack of familiarity, as this is a European framework. If you visit the self-assessment section of the CEFR site, you’ll notice that there is no official translation of the self-assessment grid in Japanese—which makes sense, as Japan is not a part of Europe.
However, Japan has been working on adapting the CEFR to Japanese pedagogy. The Agency for Cultural Affairs released a report in 2021 (Japanese only) on using the reference framework for Japanese (note pages 25+, which list skills and proficiencies relevant to each level). This process will take time, but perhaps in the future the CEFR will see more regular use at all levels within Japan.
Other standardized assessment methods
There are various other methods of assessing Japanese language proficiency, such as the Business Japanese Test (BJT) or the Japanese Kanji Aptitude Test (日本漢字能力検定, nihon kanji nouryoku kentei, often shortened to kanken).
The BJT suffers from many of the same problems as the JLPT, but with an additional shortcoming: it’s even less well-known than the JLPT, both inside and outside of Japan.
Kanken is slightly better in that it is extremely well-known inside of Japan, but it isn’t actually a Japanese proficiency test; it’s a test of proficiency with the Japanese variants of sinographic characters and related usages within the Japanese language. So while a high Kanken level may correlate with knowledge of the Japanese language, the opposite is not necessarily true.
Practical takeaways
In the end, what does this mean for you as a job seeker?
It means that, unlike standardized tests, most companies don’t need you to know X kanji or Y vocabulary words; they need someone who can understand others and make themselves understood.
There are a few things you can do to let potential employers decide for themselves if your Japanese ability matches their needs:
- Explicitly mention your Japanese ability on your resumes. I personally use colloquial definitions—our definitions and the CEFR guide are great starting points for self-assessment.
- If the position requires Japanese ability, especially at a conversational, business, or fluent level, look at the requirements and imagine yourself doing those things in Japanese. Would you be able to do it now? How about if you had a little time to prepare and brush up on some grammar and vocabulary? If so, you should give it a shot!
- Prepare Japanese resumes to submit on request: knowing that they exist and being able to fill them out properly can go a long way toward reassuring companies about your competence with Japanese.
- If there is a Japanese language requirement for the position, ask upfront if there is a screening round in Japanese, and offer to go through one if language ability is important.
- Be a good communicator in English. Many people overlook this, but you can make a great impression as a clear, purposeful communicator when applying in English. I got a job offer out of the blue once, largely due to my non-technical communication abilities when explaining the complexities of hiring in Japan.
Many people worry that they will be unemployable without a specific type of certification, most often JLPT N2 or N1. Recruiters are known to state that having either N2 or N1 certification is mandatory. While recruiters or hiring staff may filter out resumes based on those keywords, I can personally say that, as a senior engineer who can communicate in Japanese, the lack of a JLPT certificate has never been a barrier to getting interviews in Japan. At most, companies have asked me to do a round or two in Japanese with a native interviewer, and the proof is in the pudding.
Why does Japanese ability matter to employers?
Sometimes people will ask why Japanese ability even matters if the position says it’s not necessary; perhaps the entire team, or even the entire company, already speaks English!
The more senior the position, the more likely it is that an employer may prefer candidates with excellent Japanese communication abilities, as it is probable they’ll be in situations where they represent the company. Customer-facing positions, or roles that interface between the company and an external team, have a higher chance of requiring advanced Japanese.
Another issue is that, while Japan has made concessions for foreigners and provides some resources in English and other languages, and even though machine translation apps have become more widespread, it is still much easier for people who can communicate in Japanese to live in Japan.
In that sense, Japanese ability can be a way for companies to decide between multiple candidates who are equal in all other respects. Who seems like they can function well in Japan? Who seems like they will need more help with the paperwork and processes involved in starting a new job or life here? The ability to communicate effectively in Japanese could signal a more reliable candidate who will remain in the country for longer.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to easily and objectively measure how good someone is at communicating in Japanese, so companies will fall back on standardized test results and levels in their postings. You shouldn’t let that discourage you.
If a company asks for “business” Japanese and you feel like you’re a fluent conversationalist, it may be that your communication skills are good enough for what the company wants—don’t disqualify yourself in advance!
