STEP Eiken
Japanese examination on the English language
The Eiken Test in Practical English Proficiency (実用英語技能検定, Jitsuyō Eigo Ginō Kentei), informally Eiken (英検, Eiken) and often called STEP Eiken or the STEP Test, is an English proficiency test conducted by the Eiken Foundation of Japan (formerly the Society for Testing English Proficiency), a public-interest incorporated foundation. The foundation is backed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).
Format and contents
Eiken is a criterion-referenced test. There are seven levels that examinees either pass or fail. The levels are called grades (級, kyū):
Eiken is a four-skills test, assessing a combination of receptive and productive skills. In addition to reading, listening and speaking tests, all grades except Grades 4 and 5 include a handwritten composition task.
Eiken in Japan
In Japan, Eiken is conducted three times a year: January/February, June/July, and October/November. There are two stages in the test, the first stage (vocabulary, reading, listening, and writing) and the second stage (speaking, applicants for Grades 4 or 5 are exempted). Only those who pass the first stage can progress to the second stage. The second stage is conducted about one month after the first stage.
The public source identifies “STEP Eiken” as japanese examination on the English language. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around STEP, Eiken and Japanese.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q430664. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “STEP Eiken” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.