EJU Japan and the World key terms

The reading-comprehension section of the EJU Japanese as a Foreign Language test, requiring candidates to extract main ideas, supporting detail, and author attitude from academic and essay-style passages within a fixed time limit.

The listening-comprehension section of the EJU Japanese test, in which candidates hear conversations or monologues once and must answer questions on content, intent, and implied meaning without replaying the audio.

A combined EJU task type where candidates listen to audio while looking at a printed chart, diagram, or text, then choose the answer that correctly matches spoken information to the visual material.

The EJU writing section, in which candidates produce a short argumentative essay of roughly 400 characters on a given topic, assessed for task fulfillment, structure, vocabulary, and grammatical accuracy.

Japanese manuscript paper divided into square cells, one character per cell. EJU writing answers must follow its conventions, including indenting the first line and starting new paragraphs on a fresh line.

The logical flow of an essay: stating a position, giving reasons and examples, and reaching a conclusion. EJU raters reward clear progression and penalize essays that list opinions without connecting them.

Connective words and phrases such as したがって, 一方で, and なぜなら that signal cause, contrast, or addition. Correct use makes essay logic explicit and is a scored feature of EJU writing.

Referring words such as これ, それ, and このこと that point back to earlier content. EJU reading questions often ask what a demonstrative refers to, so candidates must trace the antecedent precisely.

The content words repeated or emphasized in a passage that carry its central claim. Locating them quickly helps candidates answer main-idea questions and avoid distractors built from minor details.

The author's central opinion or claim in a text, usually marked by expressions such as べきだ or 重要だ. Distinguishing it from mere background information is a core EJU reading skill.

Chinese-derived characters used in Japanese writing. EJU Japanese tests kanji reading and production at roughly upper-intermediate level, including compounds common in academic and everyday topics.

The two Japanese syllabaries. Hiragana marks grammar and native words; katakana writes loanwords and emphasis. EJU tests accurate use of both, including long vowels and small っ in katakana words.

Words borrowed into Japanese from other languages, mostly English, written in katakana, such as インターネット or ボランティア. EJU reading and listening passages on modern topics use them frequently.

The stock of words a learner knows. EJU Japanese assumes roughly 10,000 words at the upper end, covering daily life, university study, society, and science, and tests meaning in context rather than isolated lists.

How a word is written: kanji, hiragana, katakana, or a mix. EJU writing penalizes nonstandard spellings, so candidates must know which form is conventional for a given word.

Words that habitually appear together, such as 計画を立てる or 影響を与える. Natural collocation distinguishes fluent EJU writing from grammatically correct but awkward phrasing.

Fixed idiomatic expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words, such as 手を貸す or 顔が広い. EJU reading and listening occasionally test these in context.

Japanese honorific language, comprising 尊敬語 (respectful), 謙譲語 (humble), and 丁寧語 (polite) forms. EJU listening and reading test whether candidates can follow social relationships signaled by these forms.

Plain style (だ・である) versus polite style (です・ます). EJU essays normally use plain style consistently; mixing the two within one text is treated as a style error.

Note-taking during listening tasks. Because EJU audio plays only once, candidates must quickly record numbers, names, and reasons in shorthand while continuing to listen for the answer.

Interpreting charts and tables in Japanese, including axis labels, units, trends, and comparisons. EJU listening-reading and writing tasks often require describing or matching data accurately.

Email-style passages used in EJU reading, with greetings, subject lines, and requests. Candidates must identify the sender's purpose and the appropriate response, including register.

Japanese history, one subject of the EJU Japan and the World course. It covers political, social, and cultural developments from early times to the modern era, with emphasis on chronology and cause-effect links.

World history as tested in EJU Japan and the World, connecting major civilizations, revolutions, and wars to Japan's modern development and to present-day international relations.

Geography within EJU Japan and the World, covering climate, landforms, industry, population, and regional issues in Japan and the wider world, often tested through maps and statistics.

A chronological table of dates and events. EJU history questions often require placing events in order or matching a period to its defining political or economic change.

The process by which a society industrializes, builds modern institutions, and integrates into global trade and politics. Japan's Meiji-era transformation is a recurring EJU theme.

The shift from handcraft to machine-based production, beginning in eighteenth-century Britain. EJU questions compare its social effects with Japan's later industrial growth.

Quantitative data such as population pyramids, trade figures, or energy tables. EJU Japan and the World asks candidates to read values, compute simple differences, and draw conclusions from them.

A map used in EJU geography questions to identify locations, climate zones, routes, or regional patterns. Reading latitude, scale, and symbols accurately is essential.

The difference in local time between places, calculated from longitude and standard time zones. EJU geography sometimes asks candidates to compute arrival times across zones.

The economy as an EJU Japan and the World topic: markets, prices, trade, and government policy. Questions test basic concepts and their application to Japan and the global economy.

Supply and demand. EJU economics questions use these concepts to explain price changes, shortages, and the effects of policy or external shocks on markets.

Relations among states, including diplomacy, alliances, and international organizations. EJU Japan and the World links historical treaties and conflicts to current global cooperation and tension.

Environmental issues such as climate change, pollution, and resource depletion. EJU Japan and the World tests their causes, international agreements, and national responses.

Falling birth rates combined with a rising elderly share of the population. This demographic shift shapes EJU questions on Japan's labor force, pensions, and regional decline.

The ability to reason from premises to conclusions, identify assumptions, and evaluate evidence. EJU Japan and the World and the mathematics course both reward this basic academic skill.

Reading and drawing valid inferences from documents, tables, and graphs. EJU questions often present data and ask which conclusion is supported, penalizing overgeneralization from limited figures.

A short structured essay presenting a position with reasons and examples. Though the EJU writing task is shorter, the same skills of clear thesis and organized support apply.

The conventions for writing loanwords in katakana, including long-vowel marks, small ッ, and distinctions such as パソコン versus パーソナルコンピューター. Accuracy affects EJU spelling items and essay scoring.