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JLTCT

Japanese Language Teaching Competency Test

Japan Educational Exchanges and Services (JEES) · JA tests Japanese

UpcomingOfficial site ↗

  • Dec12026

    First computer-based test day

    Official schedule. Tests run year-round after this; book from 60 days before.

    Test date

Dates are from the organisation's official announcements. Always confirm on the official site before you apply.

Taking the test

Fee
¥13,000 including tax (2026).
How often
Held year-round from 1 December 2026. You can book from 60 days before your test date and retake after 150 days.
Format
A computer-based test at a test centre: 210 minutes in total, with Test 1 (90 min) and Test 2 (about 100 min, including audio questions). All questions are multiple choice.
Run by
Japan Educational Exchanges and Services (JEES)
Apply
Official site ↗

Levels

LevelWhat it meansScorePass rate
PassedBasic knowledge and skills needed to teach Japanese: society and culture, language and society, language and psychology, language and education, and language itself.180 points (Test 1: 100, Test 2: 80) about 30%

The pass mark is not published. The result letter shows your score for each test and the total, plus a four-step rank for each of the five areas in Test 1. The pass rate is from the last paper test in October 2025: 579 of 1,944 candidates who sat all tests passed (29.8%). Rates for the new computer-based test are not yet published.

What it tests

Tested

  • Teaching methods
  • Japanese linguistics
  • Language acquisition
  • Language, society and culture
  • Listening

Not tested

  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Writing kanji by hand

It is all multiple choice, so it does not test your own speaking, writing or classroom teaching.

Languages and where to take it

Test language
In Japanese.
Instructions
Instructions are in Japanese.
Where
Only in Japan, at Prometric test centres in all 47 prefectures. It cannot be taken overseas.
How long it counts

What it's recognised for

Used when hiring teachers at Japanese language schools, companies, community classes and overseas, though each employer sets its own rules. It is not the exam for the national Registered Japanese Language Teacher (登録日本語教員) qualification. Under transitional rules to March 2029, current teachers who passed a test held between April 1987 and March 2024 can be exempted from the national Japanese Language Teacher Examination after completing MEXT courses.

About the exam

Who it's for
For people who teach or want to teach Japanese. It checks basic knowledge for teaching and the ability to apply it in real classrooms.
Levels and scores
Pass or fail. Test 1 is out of 100 points and Test 2 out of 80; the pass mark is not published.