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Simple Gaijin featured image examining whether the JLPT is getting harder, featuring N1–N5 Japanese study books, a maneki-neko, Mount Fuji, and a graph comparing Japan and overseas certification rates from 2013 to 2025.

Is the JLPT Getting Harder, or Are Test Takers Just Not Trying Hard Enough? — Part 1

Is the JLPT getting harder, or are test takers simply not preparing well enough? Using 13 years of official Japanese-Language Proficiency Test statistics from 2013 to 2025, we investigate declining certification rates, surprising differences between Japan and overseas examinees, and the extraordinary results recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic. The numbers reveal a much more complicated story than you might expect.

Mike Viscusi

Jul 21, 202016 min read