Typing Tests in Japan: Types, Fees, Résumés and Elementary Students

This article covers three whose details I could confirm on their official sites.

• Typing Skill Test “e-typing Master”

  Measures romaji input skill. Grades run from 8 (free) up to Special, and you can take it any time of day on a computer. Grades 7 and up cost 2,200 to 4,400 yen including tax.

• Japanese Word-Processing Test

  Measures Japanese input and document creation. Speed is the number of characters entered in 10 minutes, document creation is 20 minutes, and you must meet both standards. Fees are 1,800 to 5,300 yen including tax.

• Mainichi PC Input Contest

  Awards grade levels based on 1- or 5-minute input results. There is no age limit, from preschoolers to adults, and individuals can take part over the internet from home.

A test is something you apply for and take, and it gives you a pass or fail, a grade, or a certificate. e-typing's Skill Check (腕試しレベルチェック) and Sushida, on the other hand, are not tests; they are games for checking your current speed.

e-typing's Skill Check shows a “level,” not a “grade” (E- up to S, with Good! above). Its prompts change weekly and it ends when you have typed all the sentences (official, October 18, 2026). Sushida shows the amount of money “eaten.” For neither did I find an official mention of a certificate for a résumé.

Scores in games and test grades are separate things. You cannot map a game's number onto a test grade.

It is run by the “Typing Skill Test e-typing Master Office,” a department of e-typing Co., Ltd. (official FAQ). Checked on October 18, 2026.

How you take it, per the official site: on a computer connected to the internet, at home or on a computer at a computer school, workplace or school. After applying, an exam ID and passcode arrive by email, and you can take the exam right away or later. The result appears on screen when you finish. The result sheet, and the pass certificate if you pass, can be downloaded as PDFs.

The conditions are also stated officially. It evaluates romaji input skill, and you cannot take it with kana input. Turn the Japanese input mode off. One application gives one attempt. Once the application procedure is done, cancellation is not accepted, and the fee is not refunded even if you do not take the exam. Payment is by credit card or Amazon Pay. The stated environment is Windows and macOS with Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari. The official site recommends confirming that it works with the free mock exam before you apply.

Grade 8 is free, and the official site says you may take it as many times as you like. Group applications (3 or more people) get a fee discount.

I could not find the total time for the whole exam on the official pages I checked. The amount of questions is given, for example, as “one letter of the alphabet, 1 minute” for the single-key test and “one passage of about 450 romaji characters” for the long-text test.

A test supported by Japan's Ministry of Education, listed on the Japan Testing Association's site. Its stated purpose is to develop Japanese input and document-processing ability through using word-processing software. It does not measure romaji keystroke speed; speed is judged by the number of characters of Japanese text entered. Checked on October 18, 2026.

For grades 4 to 1, you pass only by meeting both standards: speed (10 minutes) and document creation (20 minutes, 80 points or more). For Shodan you must meet three: speed plus the two document-creation tests (I and II). For the 2026 school year, the remaining exam dates and application periods are December 6, 2026 (round 149; October 30 to November 12) and February 21, 2027 (round 150; January 15 to 28, 2027).

The official site says its tests are in principle taken as a group. To take it as an individual, you pick the nearest school from the list of venues that accept individuals (on the official page “For those considering individual entry”) and contact that school directly to ask whether you can take it, how to apply, and what PC environment is used. After applying, changes, cancellations and refunds are not possible. The official “exam dates and fees” page says there are no restrictions on eligibility. I found no résumé wording on the official pages I checked.

It is organized by the Mainichi Newspapers and the Japan PC Skills Testing Committee, as a project supported by Japan's Ministry of Education (the 26th contest, 2026 entry guidelines). There are three rounds a year, in June, autumn (September–October 2026) and winter (January–February 2027), plus a national final (December 2026). The winter round does not qualify you for the national final.

The divisions are Part 1 home position (1 minute), Part 2 romaji (1 minute), Parts 3–4 English (5 minutes), Parts 5–6 Japanese text (5 minutes), Part 7 numbers and symbols (5 minutes), and Category II basic-skills divisions (English words, kanji). The score is the number of correct characters minus the miss count, plus a bonus for accuracy, and that score sets your grade (10th grade up to 1st). The tasks are announced in advance; you practice and then enter with the same task.

There are prohibited acts. Using IME or ATOK learning functions, predictive conversion or input assistance, registering words beforehand, and copy and paste are banned, and breaking the rules means disqualification. For individual entries, the person or their parent sets up the PC beforehand. Entry fees differ by division and by the form of entry and are listed in a table in the guidelines. A price revision notice has also been posted, so I do not state amounts here.

Some can be listed. For the e-typing Master, the official FAQ tells you to write “Typing Skill Test e-typing Master, Grade X obtained” (タイピング技能検定イータイピング・マスター○級取得). The Mainichi PC Input Contest guidelines say the grade can be listed on a résumé as a qualification, and include a sample entry. For the Word-Processing Test, I found no résumé wording on the official page I checked.

But being able to list it is not the same as being valued for it. Look at whether the job posting names a needed skill, and choose the test that fits. I found no official standard for the typing speed work requires. For one way to think about it, see Typing Speed Needed for Work.

The free speed checks (e-typing's Skill Check, Sushida) are not tests. I found no official mention of a certificate meant for a résumé.

The Mainichi PC Input Contest has no age limit, from preschoolers to adults, and its guidelines mention participants from age 3 to their 80s. Divisions for elementary students include Part 1 home position (basic), Part 2 romaji, and Part 5 Japanese text A for elementary students (lower/middle grades and upper grades). For individual entries, the person or a parent sets up the PC.

For the e-typing Master, I found no age limit on the official site. Its “About the Typing Skill Test” page says that students at junior-high age and below are increasingly taking it, and that some elementary students have passed grade 1. Minors apply after getting a parent's consent. Grade 8 is free and can be taken any number of times, so one option is to try it. Its stated environment is Windows and macOS, so if you want to take it on a school Chromebook or an iPad, check first with the free mock exam. I could not find Chromebook or iPad mentioned on the official site.

For the Word-Processing Test, the official “exam dates and fees” page says there are no restrictions on eligibility. But group entry is the rule, and an individual contacts a venue that accepts individuals directly.

• I just want to try one

  Grade 8 of the e-typing Master is free and can be taken any number of times. There is also a free mock exam before you apply. e-typing's Skill Check is not a test, but it is a way in to see your current speed.

• I want romaji input skill on my résumé

  The e-typing Master. The official site explains how to write it.

• I want to cover Japanese text input and document creation

  The Japanese Word-Processing Test. Group entry is the rule, so an individual contacts one of the official venues that accept individuals directly.

• I want a goal for a child, or to do it at school

  The Mainichi PC Input Contest. Group entry from a school requires at least 3 people and 5 tasks.

Typing Musou can serve as a practice place before a test, but its question format differs from any test, so treat it as one place to practice. For free games compared, see Best Free Typing Games 2026.

I found no official correspondence between test grades and WPM, so this article does not include a conversion table.

The reason is that the units differ. The e-typing Master's pass points are its own points; the Word-Processing Test uses characters entered in 10 minutes; the Mainichi Contest uses a score of “correct characters − misses + bonus.” WPM itself is counted differently by each service. e-typing explains it as “characters (alphanumeric keys) entered per minute,” while Typing Musou uses correctly typed keystrokes divided by 5.

To find out how fast you are now, see WPM Average & Benchmarks. For how to practice toward a test, see How to Get Faster at Typing.

• Q. Which typing test is the hardest?

  They cannot be compared. Each measures something different (romaji input, Japanese text and documents, grade levels) in different units. Within one test, higher grades have higher pass points.

• Q. Can I take a typing test for free?

  The e-typing Master's grade 8 is free; grades 7 and up cost 2,200 to 4,400 yen including tax. The mock exam before applying is free. The Word-Processing Test is 1,800 to 5,300 yen including tax. Entering the Mainichi Contest costs money, with the amount differing by division (practice is free, per the official site).

• Q. Can I list it on a résumé?

  For the e-typing Master, the official FAQ tells you how to write it. For the Mainichi Contest, the guidelines say the grade can be listed as a qualification.

• Q. Can an elementary student take one?

  The Mainichi Contest has no age limit and has elementary divisions. The e-typing Master asks minors to apply with a parent's consent. See the section “Can an elementary student take one?” for details.

• Q. How long is the test?

  It depends. The Word-Processing Test is 10 minutes for speed and 20 minutes for document creation. The Mainichi Contest is 1 minute for Parts 1–2 and 5 minutes for Parts 3–7. For the e-typing Master, I did not find the total time on the official pages I checked.

• Q. Can I take one with kana input?

  The e-typing Master evaluates romaji input skill, and the official site says you cannot take it with kana input. For the other tests, check the input method on the official site.

Japan's main typing tests are the e-typing Master (romaji input), the Japanese Word-Processing Test (Japanese input and documents) and the Mainichi PC Input Contest (grade levels). The e-typing Master and the Mainichi Contest can be listed on a résumé. For elementary students, the Mainichi Contest has no age limit, and the e-typing Master requires a parent's consent.

The values in the tables were confirmed officially on October 18, 2026. Please check the official site for the latest before you apply.

I checked grades, fees and exam formats against the official pages and guidelines below (checked October 18, 2026). The pages are in Japanese. Details change, so please confirm on the official site before applying.

1. Typing Skill Test e-typing Master: exam contents — subjects, pass points and fees for grades 8 to Special (grade 8 is free), how pass/fail is decided, amount of questions
2. e-typing Master: choose a grade (individual applicants) — fees for grades 7 to Special, and the description of each level
3. e-typing Master: about taking the exam — from applying to taking the exam, payment methods, cancellation and refunds, environment, minors, group entry
4. e-typing Master: FAQ — the organizer, the free mock exam, no kana input, how to write it on a résumé
5. e-typing Master: about the Typing Skill Test — who takes it (junior-high students and younger, elementary students who passed grade 1)
6. Japan Testing Association: Japanese Word-Processing Test — Ministry of Education support, purpose, test standards (speed, document creation, Shodan)
7. Japan Testing Association: exam dates and fees — 2026 school-year dates and application periods, general fees, eligibility (no restrictions), group entry as the rule
8. Japan Testing Association: for those considering individual entry — how individuals apply (contact a venue that accepts individuals)
9. 26th Mainichi PC Input Contest entry guidelines (PDF) — p.1, p.4, p.5, p.7–p.10 (organizers, rounds, divisions and times, scoring and grades, eligibility, group entry requirement, prohibited acts, résumé listing)
10. Pasoken (Japan PC Skills Testing Committee), top page — free practice app, price revision notice
11. e-typing Skill Check — how a run ends, level table
12. e-typing help: “What does member-only practice contain?” — that the Skill Check prompts change weekly
13. e-typing help: “What are WPM and EPM?” — how it explains WPM