Japan is getting more rigorous in their requirements for visas. They have increased visa fees to match global standards (but not wages; that’s another blog post), changed rules around applying for permanent residency, and added language requirements.
Starting soon, new immigrants who use Japanese in their work and are applying for Engineer or Specialist in Humanities visas will need to have CEFR B2 level certification, which is JLPT N2.
Let me give you some context on the testing. The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) is the most common Japanese test; it’s offered around the world and it is the standard that workplaces use. The government has decided not to use JLPT as the metric, but the more global European CEFR standard. They aren’t quite equivalent, as you can see from the JLPT’s own chart:
| CEFR / JLPT | Description |
|---|---|
| A1 / N5 | Beginner: Can use simple sentences and everyday expressions. |
| A2 / N4-N3 | Elementary: Can communicate in simple tasks and understand basic phrases. |
| B1 / N3-N2 | Intermediate: Can understand and produce simple connected texts on familiar topics. |
| B2 / N2-N1 | Upper-Intermediate: Can understand the main ideas of complex texts and interact fluently. |
| C1 / N1 | Advanced: Can understand a wide range of demanding texts and express ideas fluently. |
| C2 / n/a | Proficient: Can understand virtually everything heard or read and express themselves precisely. |
(The rest of this post is a personal reflection about my language skill and concerns.)
This new language requirement would absolutely disqualify me from coming to Japan and working. I was a Specialist in Humanities when I arrived in 1998 and I had no Japanese ability at all. I knew 左 and 時計 from doing some flashcards on the plane.
Tod passed N1, the highest level of exam after two tries and years of study. I don’t know what his score was, but he’s at least B2 level. I passed N4 about a year after starting language lessons and never took another JLPT again.
With my two words on arrival, I enthusiastically embraced learning, did my homework diligently, and graduated from an intermediate level course in 2001. I could have passed N3 then. Now I have grammar and vocab locked away in my brain but it fails to appear on demand.
In the 25 years since I finished my regularly scheduled Japanese lessons, I find myself stepping in and out of language schools, tutors, books, and apps to try to improve. That improvement has been marginal.
So could I pass the exam that newcomers will need to? I attempted an N2 practice test today and it was impossible. Interestingly, my brain did not respond as if the test was language. It was a puzzle. A guessing game. I guessed badly and utterly failed, as I expected.
The N3 practice test was a little bit better. I tried the vocabulary section and got about half right. Which isn’t good enough, but at least the test felt more like reading a language than puzzle-solving. Perhaps with some directed study, I would be able to unlock enough previously learned grammar and vocab to pass.
But I am concerned that it may be too late for me to learn much more Japanese.
I suffer days where language is difficult. My thoughts are clear inside my head but I can’t express myself in English or in Japanese. Tod can vouch for this. Writing usually lets me access the words I need (with occasional glitches and frequent typos), but on bad days my speaking is confused bumbling. I guess it may be normal aging, but it’s scary to think I am losing my ability to communicate.
My memory is changing, too. It is frustrating to lose ability to pick a fact from my brain with ease. For example, I used to know the location of almost anything I owned. Now I often forget that I own things, much less where they might be. I understand better why my mother had a half dozen nail clippers in her house and how we accumulate jars of oregano in the spice pantry. I have many compensatory strategies; you would probably never know that this is a problem for me.
So with both language and memory issues weighing on me, I fear I can’t really learn a level of Japanese that would make me more functional in society. Will my brain work?
I used to slowly, painstakingly pick through documents to read them. Now I skim a page for context, then use my phone’s translation tools to get the details. I get by fine as long as I have this assistance.
But technology doesn’t really help in conversation. I am often left behind when people are talking at a natural speed. I listen carefully, but lose track. I grow quiet and don’t contribute to the discussion. Or when I try to talk, my vocabulary peters out after a couple of sentences.
Like it did last night at a birthday dinner with friends. I did my best. I chatted in a mix of Japanese and English, but I got lost in the listening to everyone’s overlapping conversations. Then I glazed over and focussed on my own thoughts and observations as I ate the delicious meal that Hitomi and Naomi made for us. Fortunately I was surrounded by the love and good cheer of friends, so it was fine.
When it comes to the government’s tightening of regulations, I already have PR and these new visa rules won’t apply to me. Officially, I’m safe until the government decides differently. But before long, most arriving foreigners will speak pretty good Japanese and my lack of it will be even more embarrassing. It makes me want to cry.
Or maybe I should put it this way: 日本語を話せなくて、泣くします。
