JLPT Reading Practice Before the December Test: How to Use Your Reading Time
Hiroki Obara · Developer
The second Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) of 2026 is on Sunday, December 6, according to the official JLPT site. Counting from October 24, when this post went up, that leaves about six weeks. Some cities outside Japan hold the test only in July or only in December, so check the schedule for your test site.
I have written several posts recommending extensive reading in Japanese. As the test gets closer, though, many learners wonder whether they should keep reading books or switch entirely to practice questions. This post first checks the reading question types in the official materials, then looks at how to use the six weeks that are left.
The reading question types
The JLPT site’s page on test sections and test times lists the reading question types at each level. In summary:
| Question type | Levels |
|---|---|
| Comprehension (short passages) | N1 to N5 |
| Comprehension (mid-size passages) | N1 to N5 |
| Comprehension (long passages) | N1, N3 |
| Integrated comprehension | N1, N2 |
| Thematic comprehension (long passages) | N1, N2 |
| Information retrieval | N1 to N5 |
Integrated comprehension asks you to read and compare more than one text. Information retrieval asks you to find what you need in material such as a notice or a guide. The official sample questions show one example of each type at each level.
The test times matter too. Reading is not a section of its own. It shares its time with other questions.
| Level | Section that includes reading | Time |
|---|---|---|
| N1 | Language Knowledge (Vocabulary/Grammar) and Reading | 110 min |
| N2 | Language Knowledge (Vocabulary/Grammar) and Reading | 105 min |
| N3 | Language Knowledge (Grammar) and Reading | 70 min |
| N4 | Language Knowledge (Grammar) and Reading | 55 min |
| N5 | Language Knowledge (Grammar) and Reading | 40 min |
At N1 and N2 you answer the vocabulary and grammar questions and the reading questions within the same block of time. If you linger over the vocabulary questions, you can run short on time for reading. I think preparing for the reading section is as much about finishing within the time as it is about understanding.
Why I think reading books helps
I have two main reasons for recommending books.
The first is speed. Passages in practice books are short, and you stop after each one to check the answer. With a book you keep going, so you build the habit of working out an unknown word from its surroundings and moving on. That is what the long passages on the test ask of you.
The second is stamina. 110 minutes is a long time to read Japanese with full attention. If you are used to reading several thousand characters a day, your reading holds up better in the second half of the test.
Books are not enough on their own, though. Information retrieval means finding the item that matches some conditions in a table or a notice. That is a different kind of reading from a novel. Integrated and thematic comprehension also take practice in matching the writer’s point against the answer choices. For these question types, practice questions are the fastest way to get used to them. The official site also lists the Official Practice Workbook.
Splitting the six weeks
What I would suggest is to switch the balance halfway.
For the first three weeks, keep books at the center of your reading time. In the first week, also take one full practice test under real timing, using the official workbook or similar. Once you know which question types slow you down and where you lose points, you know how to spend the rest of your time.
For the last three weeks, spend more time on practice questions. Even so, I would keep reading a little every day. If your daily reading drops to zero, the reading speed you have built up starts to slip. It can be short.
In the week before the test, I would not start a new long novel. Arriving at the test with a book still unfinished does not help you feel settled.
Just before the test, read short works
For reading right before the test, works you can finish in one sitting suit best. I would recommend something of about 2,000 to 6,000 characters. That is longer than a long passage on the test, but short enough for one evening.
Around N3, children’s stories such as Niimi Nankichi’s 手袋を買いに (Buying Mittens) or Miyazawa Kenji’s 注文の多い料理店 (The Restaurant of Many Orders) are good choices. At N2, try Akutagawa Ryūnosuke’s 蜘蛛の糸 (The Spider’s Thread), and at N1 a short story like 羅生門 (Rashōmon). I list their lengths and kanji ratios in Which Japanese Classics Can You Read at Each JLPT Level?, and more short works in 30 Easy Japanese Classics on Aozora Bunko for Learners.
If you are taking N1, I would also suggest Natsume Sōseki’s 夢十夜 (Ten Nights of Dreams). It is about 16,000 characters in all, but it is split into ten dreams, and each night is roughly 1,400 to 1,800 characters. You can read one night each evening for the ten days before the test. I wrote about choosing among Sōseki’s works in Reading Natsume Sōseki as a Japanese Learner.
One thing to keep in mind is that the vocabulary of modern Japanese literature is not the vocabulary of the test. You will look up plenty of words that will never appear on it. Books you read right before the test are not for learning new words. They are for keeping your Japanese reading in rhythm.
After the test
When the December test is over, I hope you keep reading. If reading you started for a test becomes something you enjoy after it, I think that is the best result of all.
Making reading time with Niho
I make Niho, a free reader for iPhone and iPad that holds the Aozora Bunko catalogue of more than 17,000 works.
A work’s detail screen shows its length in characters, so you can tell before downloading whether it fits in one evening. While reading, select a word and tap Look up to see its meaning and JLPT level. The level comes from Jonathan Waller’s JLPT word lists, and it is not an official test specification.
Words you look up are saved to your word book with the sentence you met them in. The word book also includes JLPT word lists from N5 to N1. The quiz has Fill in the blank, which uses the real sentences from your books, and Reading, where you type the reading of a kanji word in kana. Both are useful for reviewing your own words before the test.
Downloaded books read without a connection. Getting Started with Niho walks through your first book.
