The number of people studying Japanese have grown considerably and with it the opportunities to enter various jobs. This has resulted to the growth in the demand for the development of proficiency in the Japanese language. In 1984, the Japanese Language Proficiency Test was established.

The JLPT started in 1984 as a result of the increasing clamor for a standardized Japanese language certification. The pioneering test involved around 7,000 examinees. Until 2003, foreigners who plan to enroll in Japanese universities need to pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. Since then, the Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU) is required by most universities for admission purposes. The EJU has parts that will have the examinees write in Japanese.

In 2004, the JLPT was a requirement in 40 countries, including Japan. From the 302,198 examinees who took part in the test, 47% received certification for their respective levels. In 2007, the number of examinees increased to 523,958 with the number of certified candidates dropping to less than 36%.

The EJU is held in both Japan and other countries for the purpose of evaluating and certifying the proficiency of non-native speakers of the Japanese language. Within Japan, the test is administered by the Japan Educational Exchanges and Services (JEES) while the Japan Foundation conducts it outside Japan.

The Test Content Specification (TCS) is mainly responsible for determining the contents of the exam. First published in 1994, the TCS underwent partial revision in 2002 to provide reference for the examiners to compile test questions. Students who are taking the test will be required to get past-exam documents or other publications in relation to the TCS to have an idea of what to study.

The specifications for the exam is written in Japanese and is made up of different categories of lists such as kanji, expression, vocabulary, and grammar designed for all the four levels of the exam. The JLPT does not involve writing in Japanese because it is generally a multiple choice type. The writing questions will have the examinee choosing the appropriate word or grammar that will complete the sentence or selecting the kanji that is used in a certain word.