The share of third-year junior high students with English skills equivalent to Grade 3 or higher on the Eiken, Japan's main practical English proficiency test, reached 54.6%, while 52.4% of third-year high school students hit Grade Pre-2 or higher, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Kyodo News reported that both were the highest since the annual survey began in fiscal 2013, rising 2.2 percentage points for junior high and 0.8 points for high school from a year earlier, according to the suvey that count students who hold an external qualification such as the Eiken or were judged by teachers to have equivalent skills as of Dec. 1, 2025.
On the international CEFR scale used by the ministry, Grade 3 corresponds to A1, the ability to use basic everyday expressions, while Pre-2 maps to A2, handling familiar topics and exchanging simple personal information.
The Asahi Shimbun reported that despite the record, both figures remain below the government's goal of 60% by fiscal 2027, a target set under Japan's education promotion plan.
The Yomiuri Shimbun said the numbers have climbed more than 20 percentage points since the survey was first conducted in fiscal 2013.
