As the name suggests, the EJU is taken by international students who wish to study at universities as part of the universities’ acceptance requirement in order to assess students’ Japanese language abilities as well as knowledge of science, mathematics and “Japan in the world”, as a means to determine the likeliness of success of study at their respective institutions.

Who takes the EJU?

As a general rule, any international student who wishes to study at a Japanese higher education institution will likely need to take the EJU, although there are exceptions. There are no specified requirements for taking the EJU, and so it can be taken by virtually anyone and even for the purpose of measuring subject-specific aptitudes, however in order to enroll in universities in Japan students must be at least 18 years old and need to have completed 12 years of study in his or her home country. Everyone who takes the exam will receive their score and will not be provided with any form of certification.

Important facts about the EJU

• The EJU exams are held in June and November on the same day in all cities in all countries in the world.
• There are 4 tests of the EJU: Japanese as a Foreign Language, Science (Physicas, Chemisty, and Biology), Japan and the World, and Mathematics. All sections are offered in English and Japanese except for Japanese as a Foreign Language. Applicants can choose 1-3 of these tests, with some rules regarding the combination of subjects, and are responsible to select the tests specified by the university program to which they are applying, where applicable. Accordingly, it is advised that students consult the program-specific requirements specified by its academic institution.
• The EJU doesn’t test proficiency in the English language or any other foreign language. If English is not your first language and you are required by an institution to provide assessment scores for English language abilities, some univerisities will require students to take a university-specific test or submit their TOEFL scores. In all cases, in is advisible to check the university’s website for clarification.
• EJU results are not classified as a “pass” or “fail”. Unlike the Japanese proficiency test, EJU does not have different levels or point-based certificates. Performance is simply evaluated as a score. Universities look at EJU scores to determine the level of Japanese language skills and basic learning ability of international students screened for admission.

Critical Timings of 2022:

Fees for taking the test

For 1 subject: 10,000 (JPY) For 2+ subjects: 18,000 (JPY)

For a complete list of the examination sites, please visit the homepage here:

https://www.jasso.go.jp/en/eju/examinee/site.html