Guess it depends, here it is 7000 yen, in my country it would have been 20k yen when I last lived there (and usually once a year).
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Yeah I would say its def cheaper in Japan
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That makes sense and tbf, if I was in Japan for a time and the JLPT was available, Iād be more likely to try it to see where I fall.
Totally understandable, if youāre around it 24/7, youāre learning it similar to your native tongue so will have better natural listening ability, and possibly better innate spoken grammar as well, even if your writing and reading isnāt quite up to par.
Yeah, I noticed that too. Though there may also be less people outside of Japan sticking with it into N2 and N1, or it could be that those outside of Japan that needed N3 for jobs, then take the N2 and N1 once they are in Japan and have said job.
They are fun. Gives more insight and I always find it interesting. Could be a bit of both, especially with the more recent issues with tourists.
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I would say definitely cheaper in Japan. In Scotland it was Ā£100 (20,000Ā„) and I think itās increased this year too 
Yup, I was converting in the wrong direction lol.
I didnt even notice that, I would assume most people hit N3 and since thats the level most outsiders consider āfluentā might just stop and coast there. I probably would unless I thought it would become super easy but even then, only if it would get me a pay raise. No reason to study for it if it wont help you.
Wasnt it also just until recently you only needed N3 to get a decent (read livable) paying Job in Japan? Not reason to study more for a test unless its going to actually get you something once you have the quote unquote āqualificationsā. Though I though I heard through the grapevine a lot of companies are aiming for N2 level candidates now.
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N2 has been the minimum required by most companies for over a decade now. Not going to out how old I am, but that was always the requirement I saw on job postings/was told back when I first started considering working in Japan. At least for typical 9-5 jobs with a regular company.
That being said, I think plenty of people have gotten jobs with N3, especially for part-time jobs or more international/foreigner friendly ones, as JLPT isnāt a very good indicator of how well you can actually use the language.
There have been recent changes to visa requirements that are now explicitly calling for N2, so that may be why people are talking about it more?
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Yeah, that was my thinking. Iām not heading for a job in Japan (unless something major happens) but I am planning to continue learning at my own pace. Maybe in the future possibly going for the JLPT N3/ N2 and eventually N1 if only for the fact I can use that for certain job opportunities. Whether I actually go for the JLPT or not has no bearing on my continuation of studying the language as this is purely a hobby for me to enjoy and once I reach a certain level, being able to read, watch or listen to whatever I want as well as being able to navigate once I do go to Japan to meet friends/ their family as well as typical holiday talk.
Yeah, it was changed recently and now most places legally need N2 and Iāve heard that for things you wouldnāt legally need JLPT for previously are now asking for certificate proof of N2 or N1 level. Iāve even heard that some rental places are asking for proof as well alongside the other things they asked for previously, though unsure why that would be.
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Managed to read 4 pages of the second story of monogatari today and 3 chapters of Kiki mimi radio on Satori reader yesterday.
Also finished a 2k character graded novel the day before.
Still donātknow if I will have the time to read Yotsuba this week as I want to finish 8 pages of the monogatari book first but I will keep you updated!
How is everyone else reading going ?
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Now on page 214 of ćććæć®å¤å. And I resisted the urge to buy the manga!
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I know at least part of the reasoning for this was that they were getting too many people to handle - previous years Iāve heard they had difficulties finding testing facilities because of how many applicants there were. Especially since there are people who come here on vacation and sign up for the test while theyāre here, or things like that.
Obviously itās disappointing that itās harder to get a seat, but I do understand the need for the restrictions.
I skipped N5! But I also took Japanese for four years in college and did a study abroad in 2019, so it would have been pretty much just a money sink for me.
I think this is connected to what level you apply and the difficulty theyāve been having handling the number of applicants - I can say that for this yearās N2, my friend and I applied on different days but will be at the same facility. (Different rooms, sadly. But maybe thatās better so we donāt distract each other )
I canāt claim a decade, but N2 has certainly always been the level I hear about for job purposes.
Iām not going for it for job purposes - my position here isnāt reliant on it, and I wonāt be staying here permanently - but I do use it both as a motivator (looming deadline that Iāve paid money for) and a measurement of where my weaknesses are, beyond my own personal Vibe Checks.
Unfortunately I havenāt gotten anything further read since my last update, but my friend had an emergency come up that weāve been handling together so it really wasnāt even something I had time to think about.
Weāve been joking that we better not fail the N2 listening after this, though, given that the past few days have felt like the universe going āSo you think you can speak Japanese? Letās find out!ā
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You can get a job with N3 (or could) technically speaking, but N2 was the minimum to be a somewhat competitive candidate for a career job the majority of the time. That said, in a lot of cases, and especially in Japan, networking > JLPT level. Now though, N2 is legally required, as CatDQ said. However itās not required for jobs that demonstrably donāt require Japanese, such as English teaching.
To be honest, N2 was already considered the bare minimum to get a job outside of English teaching or software engineering by everyone that Iāve spoken to, though.
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I think in principle it was already intended to exclude non-residents as they require a Japanese address to send the test voucher to. They just made it explicitly soā¦
I also skipped n5 haha
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I also skipped N5! And N4. . . And N3
āāā
In terms of reading updates, not a ton on my end. Iāve been in a bit of a weird state where I donāt really feel motivated to pick up a book/manga and read, but Iāve been reading a ton of the free first chapters of things on various sites? I donāt know, feels like less effort at the moment, even though itās really not haha.
my friend had an emergency come up that weāve been handling together so it really wasnāt even something I had time to think about.
@Ayara012 I hope you and your friend are both doing okay! Itās extra stressful dealing with emergencies in your non-native language, so make sure youāre kind to yourself afterwards.
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I get itā¦ sometimes commitment is scary, even just with books
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Wild everyone seems to agree it was N2 all along. Maybe I just knew some lucky people mixed with the fact that Ive met a few people that have lived in Japan for years and speak ZERO Japanese despite working at a company.
Im in the same boat with reading though. I did actually read a couple chapters of this random manga about cute girls underground cage fighting? Ill have to find the name of it again. But most of my time recently has been with school and lesson planning
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Found it
äøååé is the name of the manga. or in English I guess āStar: Strike it Richā
Cant speak of the story all that much but its been fine for the time being. A Casual read on the phone.
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that can happen for various reasons, but a lot of it goes back to āconnections > JLPTā haha. But also I would expect those people work in roles where Japanese is not required, which, outside of English teaching, are often skilled or technical or mid/advanced career international roles.
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Yea, Ive met them of all ranges and is just surprises me that they can live somewhere and not try to get beyond being able to say hello. If it was like a year or two maybe but these were like Married with kids 10+ years. IDK, Im being hella judgy too and maybe a tad envious that they have those connections.
Anyone here high end top exec who can land me a cushy job teaching? I can kinda chat in Japanese too lmao
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i would also like a cushy job pls if theyre going around
book update:
I finished yomi no tsugai 5. I started watching the anime but tbhā¦ I prefer the manga. I bought 3 more volumes, oops.
I was reorganising my shelves though and I have some volumes I miiight get rid of. For example Kaiju number 8- I finished the series in English and was actually not really pleased with it, so I feel no particular attachment to it now. I might try and read vol 1 just because I have it tho, and then perhaps return it to the book off from whence it came. Maybe Iāll get 50 yen or something lol who knows.
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Finished Yotsuba 5! And tomorrow Iām going to have about an hour of free time at work soā¦ volume 6, here I come!
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Reading is reading! And it at least means youāre getting practice at figuring out the context/situation when a new batch of information is thrown at you.
Thank you! Sheās physically unharmed, thankfully, and I was only called in near the end of the situation, so weāve really just been dealing with the knock-on effects and changes-of-plan that itās causing. And Iāll say that the folks involved have all been both professional and kind, soā¦well, it could be a lot worse. Weāve been finding the silver linings.
I am always a little surprised by that sort of thing, too. Obviously everyone does what suits them and their lifestyles, but it feels like it would be terribly alienating, not to mention nerve-wracking if something goes wrong.
Well, youāre doing better than me this weekend - there was some rather dramatic retail therapy on my end, oops.
Gratz!
Iāve only just gotten into work this morning so no reading yet, but exams start this week and the emergency stuff has started to calm down, so I have high hopes 
Best of luck, everyone!
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