Kanji Aptitude Test at SOAS Language Centre in London

Kanji Aptitude Test

The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation (JKATF) was established nearly 50 years ago to promote kanji (Japanese characters) both in Japan and world-wide. Over the years, standardised tests for various levels of kanji proficiency have been carried out. The JKATF is the only kanji testing organisation authorised by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports & Technology. More than 2.6 million examinees have taken the Kanji Aptitude Test in Japan and overseas. There are also 19 overseas testing sites including London.

There are twelve different standards of test: Levels 1 to 8 are approved by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports & Technology; levels 9 and 10, for beginners, are recognised by the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Kanji.

The JKATF has its own web pages, mostly written in Japanese. But their application procedure is different from ours. with different dates. Your browser must be able to display Japanese text to read their pages.

Kanji Aptitude Tests at SOAS

February 2012: Kanji Aptitude Test no longer takes place at SOAS.

Ability required for each Kanji Aptitude Test by level

Level
	Level 1. Knowledge of, and ability to use within sentences, the On-Kun readings for approximately 6000 characters.
	Level Pre 1. Knowledge of, and ability to use within sentences, the On-Kun readings for approximately 3000 characters including all the Jouyou Kanji.
	Level 2. Knowledge of, and ability to use within sentences, the On-Kun readings for all the Jouyou Kanji as well as an ability to use the Personal Name Kanji.
	Level Pre 2. Knowledge of, and ability to use within sentences, the On-Kun readings for most of the Jouyou Kanji.
	Level 3. Knowledge of, and ability to use within sentences, the On-Kun readings for approximately 1,600 of the Jouyou Kanji.
	Level 4. Knowledge of, and ability to use within sentences, the On-Kun readings for approximately 1,300 of the Jouyou Kanji.
	Level 5. Knowledge of, and ability to use within sentences, the On-Kun readings for the 1006 Jouyou Kanji taught through elementary school.
	Level 6. Knowledge of the On-Kun readings, as well as the function of these readings in sentences, for the 826 Kanji taught through the 5th Grade.
	Level 7. Knowledge of the On-Kun readings, as well as the function of these readings within sentences, for the 640 Kanji taught through the 4th Grade.
	Level 8. Knowledge of the On-Kun readings for the 440 Kanji taught in Japanese elementary school.
Level 9	Knowledge of the On-Kun readings for 240 Kanji taught in Japanese elementary school.
Level 10	Knowledge of the On-Kun readings for 80 Kanji taught in Japanese elementary school, as well as an ability to correctly use Hiragana and Katakana.