Does the JFT-Basic pass mark change in August 2026?

No. The pass mark stays at 200 out of 250, which is the A2 level the Specified Skilled Worker visa requires. The August 2026 change adds more detail below the pass line; it does not move the line.

Will the test itself get harder?

No. The Japan Foundation has said the format, structure, number of questions, and difficulty level all stay the same. Only the way scores are reported changes, by adding two new bands beneath the A2 pass.

What are the new A1 and A2.1 bands for?

They give people who score below 200 a clearer picture of how close they are, and they can support the newer Employment for Skill Development (育成就労) status. For the Specified Skilled Worker (特定技能) visa you still need 200 or above.

I have a test booked before August 2026. Does this affect me?

Your result is reported the current way until July 2026. A score of 200 or above is A2 and valid for the visa either way. The new bands simply appear on results from the August 2026 sitting onward.

JFT-Basic Score Changes from August 2026: The New A1 and A2.1 Bands

If you are studying for the JFT-Basic, you may have seen that the Japan Foundation is changing how scores are reported from August 2026. The short version: the test is the same, the pass mark is the same, and if your goal is the Specified Skilled Worker visa, nothing about your target changes. What changes is the detail shown to people who do not yet pass. This guide explains exactly what is new, so you can stop worrying and get back to studying.

What the JFT-Basic is, in one paragraph

The JFT-Basic (the Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese) is a computer-based test of everyday Japanese, taken mostly by people heading to Japan to work under the Specified Skilled Worker (特定技能) visa. It has four sections (Script and Vocabulary, Conversation and Expression, Listening, and Reading), around 50 questions, and a 60-minute clock. Your result is a scaled score from 10 to 250. A score of 200 or above means you have reached the A2 level the visa requires. None of that is changing.

What actually changes in August 2026

Until July 2026, your result is reported simply: a number out of 250, and whether you reached A2 (200+). From the August 2026 sitting, the same number comes with a more detailed band underneath, so a result below the pass line tells you how close you are.

The bands the Japan Foundation has announced are:

200 to 250: A2 (specifically A2.2). This is the pass, exactly the same A2 reported until July 2026.
175 to 199: A2.1. Close, but not yet at the visa level.
145 to 174: A1.
Below 145: shown as an asterisk, not a band.

In other words, the test now distinguishes between “almost there” (A2.1) and “earlier still” (A1), where before everything under 200 was just “not yet A2”. The pass mark itself does not move: it is still 200.

Why the Japan Foundation is doing this

Two reasons. First, a single pass/fail picture is blunt. Someone scoring 198 and someone scoring 150 were both simply “below A2”, even though their study needs are very different. The new bands give honest feedback: A2.1 means polish what you have; A1 means keep building the core.

Second, Japan introduced a new residence status, Employment for Skill Development (育成就労), to sit alongside the existing Specified Skilled Worker route. The A1 and A2.1 results can support that newer pathway. For the Specified Skilled Worker (特定技能) visa you are most likely aiming at, the requirement is unchanged: A2, meaning 200 or above.

What this means for your study

Practically, very little, and that is the point.

If your goal is the work visa, aim for 200 as you always would. The bands below it do not change the target.
If you sit the test and land in A2.1 (175 to 199), you are genuinely close. The smart move is to find your weakest of the four sections and drill that, rather than restudy everything.
If you land in A1 (145 to 174), treat it as a clear signal to keep building vocabulary, kana and basic kanji, and core grammar before testing again.

The new bands are most useful as a feedback tool. Because the format and difficulty are unchanged, a realistic practice test still tells you where you stand. Our JFT-Basic mock gives you a four-section score out of 250 and a weak-area breakdown, which is exactly the kind of signal these new bands are meant to provide, before you pay for the real thing.

The part people get wrong

A change to score reporting is easy to misread as “the test is getting harder” or “the pass mark is going up”. Neither is true. The Japan Foundation has been explicit that the format, structure, question count, and level all stay the same, and that the pass mark stays at 200. If anything, the change is friendly: it gives people who do not pass a clearer map of how far they have to go.

So if you have a test booked, or a study plan running, keep going. Nothing about what you need to learn has changed. The bands are just a better mirror.

Where to go next

Start or continue on the JFT-Basic study hub: kana, kanji, vocabulary, grammar, reading, and listening, all free.
The Conversation and Expression section is the hardest to fake and the easiest to underprepare. It is worth early attention.
Not sure A2 is your level yet? The free 2-minute level test gives you a quick read.

For the official wording on the August 2026 reporting change, registration, and test dates, always check the Japan Foundation’s own JFT-Basic site, which is the authoritative source. (Japanese Compass is an independent free study resource and is not affiliated with the Japan Foundation.)