Business Japanese Proficiency Test

The Business Japanese Proficiency Test (BJT) (ビジネス日本語能力テスト, Bijinesu Nihongo Nōryoku Tesuto) is a Japanese language proficiency test designed to objectively measure a person's practical communicative skills in communicating and responding to information on a Japanese-language business environment. Unlike its counterpart Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) which focuses more on general Japanese, BJT is not designed for measuring Japanese language knowledge nor business knowledge but instead, BJT is designed to measure a person’s practical communicative ability to utilize and respond to given information, ability to express thoughts and opinions, and at the same time promote ideas or projects to people of different backgrounds and expertise.

The BJT is not only engineered to measure a person’s verbal communicative skills, but also the ability to understand and use Japanese with the aid of text, diagrams, photographs and any other available information in emails or faxes, etc. and at the same time to appropriately perform tasks and workloads suited to a Japanese-language business environment.

The Business Japanese Proficiency Test covers the full range of events or situations that may arise on a Japanese-language business environment.

History

The test was first offered in 1996 and was revised in 2003. It was originally administered by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). In April 2009, however, oversight was transferred to the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Public Interest Foundation: the same organization that administers the Kanji kentei.[1][2]

On August 18, 2010, it was announced that the test would "be discontinued at the end of the current fiscal year".[3] However, on November 25, 2010, it was announced that the test would be "relaunched".[4]

Examination and scoring

The Business Japanese Proficiency Test is split into three parts, Listening Comprehension, Listening and Reading Comprehension and Reading Comprehension.

Exam Overview Duration Questions
Listening Comprehension Section Approx. 45 minutes Situational Understanding

5 questions

 Conversational Listening Comprehension

10 questions

 General Listening Comprehension

10 questions

Listening and Reading Comprehension Section Approx. 30 minutes Situational Understanding

5 questions

 Information Listening and Reading

10 questions

 General Listening and Reading

10 questions

Reading Comprehension Section Approx. 30 minutes Vocabulary / Grammar

10 questions

 Expression Reading and Comprehension

10 questions

 General Reading Comprehension

10 questions

  • Exam overview as stated on the official BJT website.[5]

The test is scored out of a possible 800. The score is then ranked on a scale of 6 levels: J5, J4, J3, J2, J1, J1+, with J1+ being the highest and J5 the lowest.

Evaluation Level Guideline
J1+ Has the ability to adequately communicate on a Japanese-language business environment at any situation
J1 Has the ability to suitably communicate in a Japanese-language business environment on a wide range of situation
J2 Has the ability to suitably communicate in a Japanese-language business environment on a limited range of situation
J3 Is able to achieve a limited degree of communication in a Japanese-language business environment on a limited range of situation
J4 Is able to achieve a nominal degree of communication in a Japanese-language business environment on a limited range of situation
J5 Has no ability to communicate in a Japanese- language business environment

*Level guideline as described on the BJT website[6]

Testing locations

Starting April 2017, the BJT is now being delivered as a computer based test via the Pearson Vue delivery system, a radical change from the industry standard paper based testing.

As of 2018, the BJT is now available in more than 16 countries via the Pearson Vue testing network.

Test Center Locations
Japan Sapporo, Sendai, Koriyama, Tokyo, Chiba, Yokohama, Niigata, Hamamatsu, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Okayama, Hiroshima, Matsuyama, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Oita, Naha
Brazil São Paulo
China Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Dalian, Qingdao, Tianjin, Shenyang, Nanjing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shenzhen, Xi'an, Wuhan
France Paris
Germany Dusseldorf
Hong Kong Hong Kong
India New Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai
Indonesia Jakarta
Italy Padova
Malaysia Kuala Lumpur
Mexico Mexico City
Myanmar Yangon
Singapore Singapore
South Korea Seoul, Busan
Thailand Bangkok
Taiwan Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung
United States of America Los Angeles, Chicago
Vietnam Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Danang

*Test center locations available on the Pearson Vue website[7]

Notes
  1. "BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test". JETRO. Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
  2. "BJT: Contact Us". Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Public Interest Foundation. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  3. Mizuho Aoki and Reiji Yoshida (2010-08-19). "Business-Japanese proficiency test doomed by profit fall". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
  4. "Important Notice". 2010-11-25. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
  5. "Features of the BJT | What is the BJT? | BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test". www.kanken.or.jp. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  6. "Level guideline | What is the BJT? | BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test". www.kanken.or.jp. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  7. "Pearson Vue".
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