Japan's language rules for residence are inconsistent, and the inconsistency is deliberate. Some categories test you formally. Most do not test you at all. And the biggest change in decades arrives in April 2027, when permanent residency gains a language bar for the first time.
Where no Japanese is required
Most professional work statuses have no language requirement whatsoever. You can hold Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, Highly Skilled Professional, Intra-Company Transferee or Business Manager status without speaking a word.
The same is true of the Digital Nomad route, the Working Holiday visa, and the family statuses on the Spouse and Dependent page.
What your employer requires is a separate question entirely, and usually a much higher bar than immigration's.
Where Japanese is scored rather than required
The HSP points table awards points for language ability. JLPT N2 carries points; N1 carries substantially more. Holding a degree from a Japanese university adds points separately, and the two can stack.
For applicants sitting just below 70 points, passing N2 or N1 is often the cheapest way to close the gap, cheaper than changing jobs or waiting for a raise. Anyone in that position should work out how many points a certificate is worth before assuming they do not qualify.
Where there is a real test
The Specified Skilled Worker category is the one built around language testing. Entry requires either JLPT N4 or the Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese (JFT-Basic) at A2 level, alongside a field-specific skills exam.
JFT-Basic is the more commonly used of the two. It is computer-based, held far more frequently than the JLPT, and results come back in weeks rather than months. For anyone on a hiring timeline, that difference matters.
Nursing care adds a further test, the Nursing Care Japanese Language Evaluation Test, covering care-specific vocabulary.
Former technical interns who completed Technical Intern Training (ii) in a matching field skip both exams.
What is coming for permanent residency
From April 2027, permanent residency applicants will generally need Japanese at around CEFR B1, equivalent to JLPT N2. The requirement was introduced after local governments reported that some permanent residents could not read official correspondence.
N2 is not a casual bar. It assumes several thousand kanji-based vocabulary items, roughly 1,000 kanji, and the ability to read newspaper-level text and follow ordinary conversation at speed. Most learners reach it after a few years of structured study, not from living in Japan alone.
If permanent residency is part of your plan and your Japanese is conversational but untested, the practical move is to start working toward N2 now rather than after the rule takes effect. Exam sittings are limited and popular test centres fill.
For naturalisation
Japanese citizenship has never had a published language level, but the Ministry of Justice conducts an interview in Japanese and may set a written test at roughly elementary-school level. Applicants are generally expected to read and write at around third-grade standard. This is separate from permanent residency and always has been.
For study
Language schools set their own entry requirements, typically around 150 hours of prior study or JLPT N5. University and graduate programmes taught in Japanese usually ask for N2 or N1, while the growing number of English-taught degree programmes ask for none. See the Student visa page.
Which test to take
- JLPT runs twice a year, in July and December, at test centres worldwide. Five levels from N5 to N1. It is the certificate immigration and employers recognise by default, and results take about two months.
- JFT-Basic is computer-based, held monthly in many countries, and tests at A2 only. It exists mainly to serve the SSW route.
- J.TEST and BJT appear occasionally in employer requirements. Neither substitutes for the JLPT in immigration contexts.
For almost any immigration purpose, the JLPT is the one to sit. Book early: registration for the December sitting typically closes in September, and popular centres fill within days.
Where to go next
For how language points work in the HSP calculation, see Highly Skilled Professional. For the SSW route in full, see Specified Skilled Worker.
Back to Eligibility & Requirements.