The TOCFL examination underway in Japan

The Japanese National Government Licensed Guide Interpreters must pass a national exam held by the Japan Tourism Agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, in accordance with Japan’s Licensed Guide Interpreter Law. This law allows examinees who have passed a foreign language exam at a satisfactory level to be exempt from having to sit for the written examination section of Japan’s licensed guide interpreter exam.
In the past two years, the number of people taking TOCFL—the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language tests in Japan has exceeded 5,000 each year, and the Education Division at the Taipei Economic and Culture Representative Office (TECRO) in Japan started discussions with the Japanese Tourism Agency in 2022 about including TOCFL among the foreign language exams it recognizes for this exemption. In June this year, the Japanese Tourism Agency agreed officially that examinees who have passed the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language at level C2 would be eligible for exemption from the written examination. The related legislation has been amended and this exemption will be available starting in August 2024.
Taiwanese tourists made more than 4.2 million visits to Japan in 2023. This is the second-largest category of tourists, based on where they come from. Japan’s giving an exemption from the written examination if an person has passed TOCFL at level C2 attests to the reliability of TOCFL as a language proficiency test. It also creates a greater incentive for tour guides to continue to improve their Mandarin and sit for the examination to provide services for Mandarin-speaking tourists visiting Japan.