RetireJapan

I am planning to naturalize soon, but in terms of the Japanese test that will be involved, has anyone done it? What was the test like ? I understand they'll check your level to that of a grade 3 elementary school student, but Im curious to know what format was the test, writing/speaking/listening etc.

I was asked to handwrite my essay on the spot, but I understand this is not normal and my case officer was just being nasty

If you can carry on a conversation in Japanese they won't bother testing you. If it gets to the point that they do need to test you, I would recommend you spend some time studying Japanese.

To answer the question, its supposedly grade school level Japanese and should be fairly easy if you've lived in Japan 5+ years.

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 11:14 am I was asked to handwrite my essay on the spot, but I understand this is not normal and my case officer was just being nasty

You naturalized and gave up your UK citizenship? Wow.

I have a meeting with scrivener about naturalization this Friday. I'll ask about this too!

Roger Van Zant wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 11:40 am

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 11:14 am I was asked to handwrite my essay on the spot, but I understand this is not normal and my case officer was just being nasty

You naturalized and gave up your UK citizenship? Wow.

Not yet, but I think it will happen at some point. Would not have considered it pre-Brexit, but I doubt I will ever live in the UK again.

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Tue Dec 19, 2023 1:23 am

Roger Van Zant wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 11:40 am

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 11:14 am I was asked to handwrite my essay on the spot, but I understand this is not normal and my case officer was just being nasty

You naturalized and gave up your UK citizenship? Wow.

Not yet, but I think it will happen at some point. Would not have considered it pre-Brexit, but I doubt I will ever live in the UK again.

Why did you have to hand write an essay in that case?

Roger Van Zant wrote: ↑Tue Dec 19, 2023 3:25 am Why did you have to hand write an essay in that case?

I had a preliminary interview at the 法務局 in Sendai as the first step on March 10th 2011. Got a bit distracted after that and never got round to finishing the application

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 11:14 am I was asked to handwrite my essay on the spot, but I understand this is not normal and my case officer was just being nasty

Is it a requirement that the applicant needs to be able to handwrite in Japanese？
I can type Japanese just fine with minimal grammatical error (and minimal vocabulary too, probably) but handwriting is a beast that I have never attempted to tame.

goran wrote: ↑Tue Dec 19, 2023 4:06 am

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 11:14 am I was asked to handwrite my essay on the spot, but I understand this is not normal and my case officer was just being nasty

Is it a requirement that the applicant needs to be able to handwrite in Japanese？
I can type Japanese just fine with minimal grammatical error (and minimal vocabulary too, probably) but handwriting is a beast that I have never attempted to tame.

My understanding is that you have to handwrite the essay, but you can do it at home and bring it in. Being handed a piece of paper on the spot is not normal. But a lot will depend on your case officer I think.

The people I talked to first when I went in to get information were really friendly and encouraging, but my case officer was... not. Don't know if he was just having a bad day or was a nasty piece of work, but that interview put me off (plus the earthquake the next day was a bit disruptive).

Will probably try again before I have to renew my UK passport.