The Japanese Program in the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures will welcome more than 300 examinees of the annual Japanese Language Proficiency Test to Fayetteville in December. This marks the third straight year of an all-time high number of examinees for the University of Arkansas.

Offered annually since 1984, the Japanese proficiency test is the only international certification examination authorized by the Japanese government, and it is currently administered in more than 80 countries and regions worldwide. Examinees take the test at five different levels, with N1 the highest (near native-like proficiency) and N5 the lowest (simple sentence-level delivery). Besides recognizing the examinees' proficiency levels by common sets of standards worldwide, JLPT certificates offer unique advantages ranging from gaining admission to graduate schools in Japan to earning bonus points in work visa application to Japan.

The University of Arkansas was designated in 2008 as the ninth U.S. host institution of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, and 18 U.S. institutions including the University of Arkansas will host the JLPT this year. The Japanese Language Proficiency Test takes place on the first Sunday of December annually, and the 2023 JLPT at the University of Arkansas is scheduled on Dec. 3 in the J.B. Hunt Building.

Other JLPT host institutions in the U.S. include Georgetown University, University of Washington, DePaul University, and University of Michigan.

Linda Jones, chair of the Department of World Languages, Literatures aand Cultures, said, "We are excited to continue to host this prestigious exam and are grateful for Tatsuya's steadfast leadership. Both his program and his students have benefited from this exam as well!"

Tatsuya Fukushima, section head of the Japanese Program, discussed the continued increase in registration for the exam: "Two years ago, when more than 160 examinees registered for the JLPT, I thought that increase was just a one-time spike due to COVID-19 cancellations by more than half the U.S. host institutions. This year, when nearly all U.S. institutions are hosting again, we see JLPT examinees nearly double in Fayetteville. We are so grateful to see such an incredible growth of JLPT examinees at the University of Arkansas."

Professor Mafumi Omura, instructor of Japanese, commented on the increase in registration. "The great news is that the number of people taking the JLPT at the U of A this year has doubled in two years. Seeing many people on the day of the JLPT, our students will feel that studying Japanese is not just about the U of A Japanese Program, but about being part of a larger community."

Professor Motoko Miura, instructor of Japanese who will administer the JLPT for the second time, also expressed her thoughts on the continued increase of the examinees. "We are honored to host more than 300 examinees this year. We appreciate hard work for both students and faculties to make this happen, and I wish good luck for all examinees."

For more information on the JLPT and the Japanese Program at the University, please reach out to professor Fukushima at tatsuya@uark.edu.