Chapter 2. Towards the Enrichment and Spread of Culture
�6 The Global Spread of Japanese Language Education
2. For Learners of Japanese throughout the World
(4) The Japanese Language Proficiency Test
The Japanese Language Proficiency Test has been conducted within Japan by the Japan International Education Association since 1983, and has also been conducted outside Japan under mutual cooperation between the Japan Foundation and the Japan International Education Association since1984. This test is divided into four ranks from Grade l (900 hours of Japanese language instruction) down to Grade 4 (150 hours). If an examinee succeeds in passing Grade l, the test results are, in accordance with the wishes of the examinee, sent to Japanese universities to be used as a criteria for entrance selection in the case of privately financed foreign students.
A total of 68.565 students took the 1992 test at 12 sites in Japan, and 52 sites (25 countries and regions) outside of Japan. 38,951 of these examinees succeeded in receiving certificates at their respective levels (Table l-2- 9).
Table l-2-9 Outline of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in 1992
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