Still no announcement about the future announcement 
I have a horrible feeling I’ll have really patchy internet when the results do come out. Just started a tour in West Africa!
As has been noted elsewhere, the results will be on Friday 30th January 2026.
There will also be maintenance of “MyJLPT” in the 2 hours before the results announcement in Japan 
Just saw on the JLPT USA website that they are adding a test site in Charlotte, NC for 2026!
With all the trouble they’ve had with Atlanta the past few years I’m really glad they are adding another option. Charlotte is pretty central too
I should have a signal - I’m back in Accra. Unfortunately results released at 0100 here and I’m not staying up that late. Been having plenty of 0700 starts.
I had a co fused moment just now when people started saying results were out - but it’s only for Japan and China etc
Feel free to update the poll with your updated plans after getting results 
I’m interested in trying for N4 this December, but the nearest test location is an 8 hour car ride away and I’m not sure I can justify the time and expense of traveling for it yet. Will have to consider it closer to sign up time
You have lots of time until the December sign up opens. Maybe you even decide to go for N3 until then ;). Sounds like a good plan for now to wait and see.
During the break between sections of the N3 I actually chatted with someone who drove 8 hours. Personally, I think I would only do that for N2 or above, when the certifications start to matter. The lower levels are really just for personal validation, which you can get almost as well from practice tests.
It’s all up to you in the end, but just to give some perspectives, even N5 is still an achievement for some people including for me. In the world of triathlon, some people (like me) only travel far to do full IRONMAN race (3.8km swim, 180k bike, 42.195k run) while others are willing to travel the same distance to do sprint race (0.75k swim, 20k bike, 5k run). Both are achievements.
Everyone has their own journey and goal.
When it gets closer to the time, you can make the determination whether it’s worth the drive for you or not. I wish they did them on Saturdays instead of Sunday, but fortunately for me it’s only like 5ish hours so driving back after the test isn’t terrible, I just have to get somewhere to stay the night before.
Now that the results are out, it looks from the poll like the most popular answer for doing the JLPT in July 2026 is “Yes”, with N5 as most popular, closely followed by N2, then N3.
Whereas the most popular answer for doing the JLPT in December 2026 is “Maybe”, with N2 as a clear front-runner. Playing the long game 
Yes. I’ll be 51yo in July, but I’m gonna just attempt N5. I am personally in no rush and I have no JLPT requirement for my job. Learning Japanese to keep my mind fresh and for fun, thus taking it easy when I can.
@downtimes @frequent4832 @ironwaw @hrudey
Thanks for the advice, folks. I’ll give it some more thought in August 
it would be for my own sense of accomplishment and for fun (as much as taking a test can be fun, but I think it’s exciting, at least. And traveling is fun, just expensive and I’d have to take at least one day off work haha).
It’s nice to do Japanese just for fun
just saw this was posted today on the official page.
We have updated the “Latest Information” on this website.
The 2026 JLPT is primarily intended for non-native Japanese speakers who are mid-to-long-term residents or special permanent residents under Japan’s residence management system. When applying, you must enter your Residence Card number and its expiration date.
Therefore, people without a Residence Card, such as those on short-term stays for tourism and a limited stay period of less than three months, are not eligible to take the test. Even if you plan to visit Japan, you cannot take the test without a mid-to-long-term resident or special permanent resident. If you have not been issued a Residence Card at the time of application, you can not apply for the test.
Thank you for your understanding.
I guess this means we can’t take the test in japan this year?
I don’t really understand the logic behind this considering how small the foreigner population actually is in Japan, wouldn’t it just make more sense to give priority to residents and then open it up afterwards?
That 28% pass rate for N1 is abysmal 
…and only 24.9% in Japan.
And many are repeat offenders.
It is not easy.
Nor is N2 or N3, or N5 when you’re starting so: kudos to all 合格した人 and 頑張った人.
I’m planing to do N4 this year, I think ill try in july, but I’m not sure about that. I manage to pass N5 last month, that gave me new drive to learn!