This exam has gained more attention recently, due to record-breaking numbers of foreign tourists coming into the country. It was initiated in an effort to put a licensing system in place for individuals who want to offer paid guide and interpreting services to foreign tourists. According to the law, individuals performing paid interpreting and guide services for tourists can be fined up to 500,000 yen. As of last April, there are 19,033 licensed guides operating in the country.
The Basics
- Offered once a year in major cities.
- Certification for interpreting into one other language costs 11,700 yen.
- Locations include Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Naha. The exam is also administered in Taipei and Seoul, but only for certain languages.
- In 2014, there were 1,658 individuals who passed the exam with an average 22.7% pass rate.
Exam Contents
The main part of the exam focuses on interpreting between Japanese and one other language. Currently licenses are offered for 10 different languages.
- English
- French
- Spanish
- German
- Chinese
- Italian
- Portuguese
- Russian
- Korean
- Thai
Exam Format
The exam consists of a written section and an oral examination.
The format of the language section differs depending on the language chosen. Individuals who take the exam in English have multiple choice marksheet-style questions. Individuals taking the exam in Chinese or Korean have a combination of both multiple choice and long-form questions. All other languages have only long-form written response questions.
Scoring
The point breakdown for the written exam is as follows:
Section 1
- Reading comprehension in a foreign language (25 pt)
- English (or another language) into Japanese (15 pt)
- Japanese into English (or another language) (30 pt)
- Giving explanations in a foreign language (30 pt)
Section 2
- Geography (40 questions)
- History (40 questions)
- General knowledge (40 questions)
To pass the exam you have to get at least 70 points on the language section, 70 points in the geography and history sections, and 60 points in the general knowledge section. The general knowledge section questions consist of content in high school-level Social Studies textbooks, recent events in newspapers, and the Tourism White Paper that is published annually by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT).
Participants who pass the written section of the exam will be invited to take a 10 minute oral exam. Interviews for English, Chinese, and Korean are held in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. All other languages are required to interview in Tokyo. The oral examination tests your ability to utilize practical grammar and vocabulary required to perform the duties of a Interpreter Guide.
Passing the Exam
Once you pass the exam, you must register with your prefecture who will issue the actual license. For certain areas of Japan, there is a separate region-specific exam. This includes Hokkaido, Iwate Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Shizuoka Prefecture, Nagasaki and Okinawa. Individuals wishing to operate within these prefectures should inquire with their prefectural government, because they cannot obtain a license even if they pass the national examination.
One thing I found very interesting is that you can apply for exemption for certain parts of the exam by getting certain scores on various examinations. For example, passing a Geography Aptitude Exam with a level of 1 or 2 will exempt you from the 40 geography questions. A certain score on the TOEIC will exempt you from the language section, et cetera.
Now... I have no clue whether or not this exam is limited to Japanese citizens or not. Prior to writing this post, I contacted JNTO to ask whether or not foreign/temporary residents are able to take the exam, but did not receive a reply in time. It seems like the level of Japanese required is so high that it requires an extended amount of time spent in Japan. At the very least, go check out their website. If you want to see past test questions, visit this link for sample questions from each section. At the very least you can practice some higher-level reading and expand your knowledge about Japan!
1/23/2016 EDIT: According to their test center, foreign individuals are not only eligible to take the exam, but they make up a large number of test takers.
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