Learners' Long-Awaited 'Irodori: Japanese for Life in Japan - Pre-Intermediate (A2/B1)' Released!

The Japan Foundation (JF) will release 'Irodori: Japanese for Life in Japan - Pre-Intermediate' on March 31, 2026, a Japanese language coursebook for foreigners living and working in Japan.

'Irodori: Japanese for Life in Japan' is an online teaching material aimed at helping foreign nationals acquire the Japanese language skills necessary for living and working in Japan. The Introductory (A1), Elementary 1 (A2), and Elementary 2 (A2) levels were released in 2020. The materials are designed to teach not only the Japanese language but also useful knowledge and culture for living in Japan.

Since its release, it has been widely used by many users, and as of the end of February 2026, the cumulative number of page views on the website has reached approximately 23.75 million.

In recent years, as the number of foreigners working in various fields has increased, there is a growing expectation for Japanese language skills that go beyond the basic proficiency acquired up to the Elementary 2 level—skills that allow individuals to live and work smoothly as members of the local community. Additionally, there is an increasing need for continuous Japanese language learning among those who have passed the Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese (JFT-Basic) (Note) and are preparing to visit or work in Japan.

In response to this situation, we have developed and released 'Irodori: Japanese for Life in Japan - Pre-Intermediate (A2/B1)' as a textbook to further develop the basic Japanese language skills of the elementary level.

By studying the Pre-Intermediate level, learners at the elementary level aim to acquire the Japanese language skills necessary to live in Japan without difficulty and to communicate independently. The textbook covers various communication situations encountered in daily life and the workplace, allowing learners to study practical Japanese that can be used immediately.

It took approximately two years to produce the Pre-Intermediate level, from conceptualization to writing and production. During the conceptualization phase, we held repeated discussions through surveys of users and interviews with Japanese language education experts and learners both in Japan and overseas regarding topics necessary for actual life in Japan, information useful for foreigners to know, and the Japanese language skills required to participate actively in society. In the writing and production phase, we incorporated many photographs of items seen and used in real life, and recorded sounds from actual city streets and Japanese language classrooms to use as background audio, realistically representing life in Japan.

'Irodori: Japanese for Life in Japan' is provided on our website and can be downloaded freely from anywhere in the world. The main book is in PDF format and can be printed or read on tablets and smartphones. In addition to downloading, the audio is also available for streaming. Currently, the levels from Introductory (A1) to Elementary 2 (A2) are available in up to 20 languages, and we plan to gradually expand multilingual support for the Pre-Intermediate (A2/B1) level as well.

Official Website: https://www.irodori.jpf.go.jp/

Note) The Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese (JFT-Basic) is a test that measures the Japanese language proficiency required for communication in daily life in Japan and determines whether a person has 'the ability to engage in daily conversation to a certain extent and live without difficulty.' It is also used as a test to measure the Japanese language proficiency level required to obtain the 'Specified Skilled Worker (i)' status of residence. https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/