When Japanese does not function as a communication tool, it becomes a major challenge for companies that employ foreign workers. Foreign workers with the Specified Skilled Worker status of residence are granted work permission and come to Japan based on passing JLPT N4. In reality, there is a large gap between the motivation of foreign workers who arrive confident after passing the demanding N4 exam and the Japanese-language proficiency that hiring companies expect of them.

The Benchmark Level of JLPT N4

A condition for obtaining Japan’s Specified Skilled Worker status of residence is passing the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N4.
N4 is defined as the ability to understand basic Japanese, but in practice it often falls short as Japanese proficiency that can be used in the workplace, and there are cases where mutual understanding is not reached.
To minimize trouble on site, hiring companies need to clarify their own Japanese-level standards required for their operations, separate from the legally required N4 benchmark.

※JLPT levels are divided into five stages↓
N5…Able to understand some basic Japanese
N4…Able to understand basic Japanese.
N3…Able to understand Japanese used in everyday situations to some extent
N2…In addition to understanding Japanese used in everyday situations, able to understand Japanese used in a wider range of situations to some extent
N1…Able to understand Japanese used in a wide range of situations
(N5 easiest～N1 hardest)

Japanese Is a Difficult Language for Foreign Nationals

According to the U.S. Department of State’s ranking of foreign language learning difficulty, Japanese is ranked among the most difficult languages.
As native speakers, we never find Japanese difficult; it is a habit we acquire naturally from birth. From a global perspective, however, Japanese is rated as one of the most difficult languages.
One factor behind the difficulty of Japanese is also said to be related to Japanese culture.
Distinctive aspects of Japanese culture—humility, consideration for others’ feelings, reading the air, not expressing oneself, and group-oriented behavior—tend to be hard for foreign nationals to understand.

●Means of Solving Communication Problems

Examples of means to make the workplace environment run smoothly include:
・Using multilingual apps
・Hiring interpreters
・In-house study sessions for Japanese and the other party’s language
・Instruction sheets through video and images
・Multilingual manuals
and so on.
Creating an environment to improve Japanese differs by industry, so rather than proceeding with a single manual as a model, each company needs its own approach.
Deepening cross-cultural understanding is fundamental, but it is preferable not to force foreign nationals into a uniform cross-cultural manual and instead to foster a workplace environment where they are respected as individuals, just like Japanese employees.

●Learning Japanese Focused on Industry-Specific Terms

The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (N5–N1) is ultimately a benchmark established for obtaining a status of residence; workplace Japanese proficiency differs by industry.
In the nursing care industry, where communication skills matter more than in technical workplaces, Japanese usage also requires sensitivity.
On simple line work, conversation is not necessary, but to raise manufacturing quality, Japanese guidance on finishing techniques is helpful.
In construction, which has many technical terms, Japanese instruction focused on specialized vocabulary and the rough Japanese unique to construction sites takes priority—industry-specific, on-site Japanese comes first.

To build resilience toward other cultures, including language, communication ability and flexibility that go beyond language are needed.
The time and patience this requires become laborious work for hiring companies.
For foreign workers who cannot verbalize workplace communication in Japanese, flexible responses that seek to understand the other person are desirable; doing so expands into creating an environment that raises Japanese proficiency.