JFT-Basic reports a score between 10 and 250. For a Specified Skilled Worker visa the number you need is 200. That is simpler than the JLPT’s arrangement — but it deserves some explanation, because 200 out of 250 sounds alarming when the JLPT asks for 50%.
It also changed in August 2026, and most of what you will read elsewhere has not caught up.
What changed in August 2026
Until July 2026 JFT-Basic answered one question: had you reached A2, or not. Since August 2026 it reports three levels.
| Level | Score | Mainly used for |
|---|---|---|
| A2.2 (A2) | 200 – 250 | Specified Skilled Worker (i) — 特定技能1号 |
| A2.1 | 175 – 199 | Voluntary employer changes under Employment for Skill Development |
| A1 | 145 – 174 | Employment for Skill Development (育成就労), some student enrolment |
| — | below 145 | A score, but no assessed level |
If you are aiming at a Specified Skilled Worker visa, nothing has changed. You still need 200.
What changed is what a near-miss is worth. A score of 185 used to be a fail and nothing else; it is now a documented A2.1. That matters because of Employment for Skill Development (育成就労), the programme replacing Technical Intern Training from April 2027 — it has its own, lower language expectations, and these bands are how you evidence them.
Why 200 is the number
The score marks the A2 boundary on the JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education, which is aligned to the CEFR. A2 is the level at which someone can handle routine exchanges and manage daily life in Japanese with limited difficulty — and that is the standard the Specified Skilled Worker visa was designed around.
So 200 is not an arbitrary cut-off chosen to fail a certain proportion of candidates. It is where the scale says A2 begins. Everything below it means “not yet A2” and everything above it means “A2 or better”, and the visa requirement attaches to that boundary.
Why the percentage looks so much higher than the JLPT
Because the two exams use their scales differently.
The JLPT applies scaled scoring across a 0–180 range with pass marks between 80 and 100 — roughly 45% to 56%. JFT-Basic places its A2 boundary at 80% of its own range.
Comparing those two percentages tells you almost nothing about relative difficulty, because they are percentages of different things. A JLPT N4 candidate and a JFT-Basic candidate are being measured against broadly similar ability using scales that were built independently.
What you can take from it practically: JFT-Basic leaves you less visible margin. You cannot write off a whole section and pass on the strength of the others. Every section has to be functional.
How many questions can you get wrong?
The honest answer is that there is no published conversion table from raw correct answers to scaled points, so anyone giving you a precise number is guessing.
As a planning guide, work to 80%. The test is about 50 questions in 60 minutes, so aim to be getting 40 or more right in practice, with margin for exam-day nerves and the questions that are harder than anything you rehearsed.
If your practice scores sit at exactly 80%, you are not ready. You are at the boundary, and the boundary is not where you want to be sitting when the clock is real.
The four sections
| Section | Japanese | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| Script and Vocabulary | 文字と語彙 | Kana and basic kanji recognition, everyday word choice |
| Conversation and Expression | 会話と表現 | The natural thing to say in a workplace or daily-life exchange |
| Listening Comprehension | 聴解 | Short spoken instructions, announcements, conversations |
| Reading Comprehension | 読解 | Notices, schedules, short messages, workplace documents |
There are roughly 12 questions in each section, and — worth knowing — no per-section time limits. The 60 minutes covers the whole paper, so a long reading passage can quietly eat the time you needed elsewhere.
Note what this list is not. There is no essay, no literature, no abstract argument. JFT-Basic is relentlessly practical, because it was built to answer one question: can this person function in a Japanese workplace and daily life?
That has a direct consequence for preparation. Studying textbook grammar in isolation prepares you less well than practising with notices, rosters, safety instructions and supervisor requests.
You get your score immediately
This is JFT-Basic’s real advantage over the JLPT, and it is worth stating plainly.
A provisional score appears on screen the moment you finish. No two-month wait, no wondering. The official score report follows online and is the document your visa application will reference.
It also changes how you should plan. Because you know your result on the day and can retake after 45 days, a JFT-Basic attempt is a much lower-stakes event than a JLPT sitting. If your timeline allows, booking early enough to leave room for one retake is a sensible hedge.
The rule runs both ways, though: once you score 200 or above you cannot sit the test again. You have met the A2.2 requirement, and that is that.
If you score below 200
First, look at where the marks went rather than at the total.
A candidate at 180 with weak listening and three solid sections has a different problem from a candidate at 180 who is uniformly mediocre. The first needs six weeks of daily listening; the second needs broader work.
Then:
- Do not restart your preparation from the beginning. You do not need to relearn what you already passed.
- Give the weak section the bulk of your study time, and keep the others ticking over.
- Practise at speed. A significant proportion of near-misses are pacing failures, not knowledge failures. About fifty questions in sixty minutes, with no per-section limits, is tighter than it sounds.
- Sit timed mock tests, not untimed exercises. Our free JFT-Basic mock test runs on a timer and breaks your result down by section.
Remember the other half
Passing JFT-Basic with 200 satisfies the language requirement for the Specified Skilled Worker visa. It does not satisfy the skills test for your industry, which is a separate exam with separate registration.
Applicants who completed Technical Intern Training (技能実習 2号) in a corresponding field are generally exempt from both. Confirm your own position with the Immigration Services Agency or your accepting organisation before paying for anything.
Next steps
- Take the free JFT-Basic mock test
- JFT-Basic test format — what each section contains
- How to register for JFT-Basic
- The SSW visa language requirement
Scoring rules and the pass mark are set by the Japan Foundation. Confirm current details on the official JFT-Basic site before making decisions that depend on them.