Overview
I passed, so I’ll write down my thoughts. Here are the previous entries in the “Road to Eiken Grade 1” series ↓
- (2025-05-31)The Road to Eiken Grade 1 2025-05
- (2025-08-03)The Road to Eiken Grade 1 2025-07
- (2025-10-05)The Road to Eiken Grade 1 2025-09
- (2025-11-29)The Road to Eiken Grade 1 2025-11
- (2026-01-26)The Road to Eiken Grade 1 2026-01
Top 2% by Prefecture
Some people already know this, but I keep my real life and the internet separate, so I won’t say which prefecture it is.
Scores
- FY2025 3rd Test Session
- Reading: 33/35 94% (above the average of those who passed)
- Listening: 19/27 70% (below the average of those who passed)
-
Writing: 46/64 72% (above the average of those who passed)
-
Summary: 16/32
- Essay: 30/32
-
Speaking: 30/40 75%
-
SHORT SPEECH: 8/10
- INTERACTION: 8/10
- GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY: 7/10
- PRONUNCIATION: 7/10
Memories of the Exam
What I remembered from the Pre-1 exam were the “watch restriction” and the “it’s freezing!!” incident. I prepared well for both. I brought a proper analog wristwatch, and I also brought hand warmers. But then…
-
(2025-03-13)The Road to Eiken Pre-1 — The Watch Restriction and Passing the Exam
-
The listening audio echoed like crazy… seriously?
-
The venue was a university campus. A large classroom that could hold about 120 people. The listening audio was played from a radio cassette recorder placed in front of the podium.
- When I entered the room, the seats near the front were already completely full.
- In the seats toward the back, the sound echoed like crazy.
- It was actually the same classroom as when I took Pre-1, but back then the seats were filled randomly. I casually sat in an empty seat around the fourth row. I didn’t notice how bad the listening environment was in the last row…
- But for Grade 1, everyone filled the seats from the front. All the Grade 1 test takers knew how bad the listening environment was. So they kept filling seats from the front. The seriousness level of Grade 1 is just different.
- So my Eiken Grade 1 debut turned into a “last-row handicap.”
About the Controversy Over the Summary Section
The FY2025 3rd test session has caused controversy regarding the summary section. Well… I guess I should say something about it.
- Post on X: Full marks on the essay for Eiken Grade 1. Zero on the summary..
- Yahoo News: “Zero points on the summary question” — Complaints rise in Eiken Grade 1… Is it an AI mistake? Stricter grading? The association says “the evaluation is checked multiple times.”
If I organize the main points in my own words:
- The grading criteria for the summary section clearly changed compared with the FY2025 1st and 2nd sessions.
- The criteria are not public, yet this change seems to have been made without any announcement, and when people inquire, the Eiken Association dismisses it by saying “there is no problem.”
- Apparently, even if you request your answer sheet, they refuse.
Looking at my own score…
- There are two writing tasks. One of mine scored about 94%, while the controversial summary question was around 50%. (That feels strange.)
- In the essay section, I scored almost full marks in vocabulary and grammar, yet in the summary section my vocabulary and grammar were around 50%. (That also feels strange.)
- It’s annoying that an issue like this happens in the very session where I passed, turning it into a “tainted” exam session.
- For a certification exam, trust in the grading process is essential. I’m disappointed that the Eiken Association seems to treat that so lightly.
So Why Eiken Grade 1 Anyway?
It has been two years since a friend asked me, “Want to try Pre-1?” Thinking back, I’ve come quite a long way.
As I wrote in the article about passing last time, the motivation that pushed me to study for Pre-1 came from a memory in high school.
My amazing friend K was good at everything—great grades and good at sports—and she passed Eiken Pre-1 when we were in high school. I clearly remember realizing that I couldn’t compete with K. But what about now? Maybe now I could catch up with her. I wanted to catch up with her. That was my motivation for Pre-1…
But then I started to think: maybe now I could even surpass her. That desire appeared. That’s one reason.
Another reason was that I had already built a study habit, so I thought, well, why not keep going and try Grade 1 too.
And the third reason was that when I passed Pre-1, my roommate said, “Since it has ‘pre’ in the name, it’s kind of hard to brag about. Please get Grade 1.”
Other Thoughts
I’m planning to record my study process for Grade 1 in separate articles. I don’t use English either in my private life or at work. So my record of stepping up from Pre-1 to Grade 1 should be pure information about what is needed to pass Grade 1. I think that kind of pure information has some value.
Of course I’m the most amazing one for passing, but honestly, my friends encouraged me a lot. First, this ↓ is a “You’ll surely win! Eiken Fight KitKat” from a cheerful friend who shines like the sun. (Posted with permission)
I looked at it during the tense moments before the exam, and it helped me focus. Studying is fun, sure—but about a week before the test, things definitely get tense!
Next, this ↓ is an “Congratulations gift sent before the results were even announced” from an absolutely outrageous friend. (Posted with permission)
The screenshot shows that it was sent on 2026-03-06, right? The announcement of the second-stage results was on 2026-03-10. One wrong step and the atmosphere could have been extremely awkward. Didn’t I say, “I really have no confidence about the second stage…”?!
But honestly, I really didn’t have confidence, so this ridiculous gift actually helped relax me.
And this ↓ is the Switch 2 set I impulsively bought after finishing the first stage, carried away by the feeling of freedom.
There was only one month between the first stage and the second stage, so it definitely wasn’t the time to be playing it, though!
Anyway, the road to Eiken Grade 1 that I’ve been walking for a year now comes to an end here. What a journey.
