Phonetic script
あ か さ た
Hiragana
Used for grammatical elements, many native words, and readings.
Complete basic set below🇯🇵
Languages
Languages of Japan
TokyoJST
Japanese, three writing systems · 8 endangered languages recognized
日本
NIHON / NIPPON
The country name is written 日本 in Japanese. Both Nihon and Nippon are established readings. There is no single legally prescribed reading of 日本; official usage includes Nippon, for example in the Bank of Japan form Nippon Ginko.
日本語
Japanese
Japanese
De facto national language
LTR + Vertical
Writing direction
2,136
Joyo kanji
8
Languages in danger
~125M
Native Japanese speakers
How Japanese Is Written
Japanese combines multiple scripts in ordinary writing. Hiragana and katakana are complete phonetic syllabaries; kanji is a logographic system with thousands of characters, so only a representative sample is shown here.
Phonetic script
ア カ サ タ
Katakana
Commonly used for loanwords, foreign names, and emphasis.
Complete basic set belowLogographic characters
日 本 語 人
Kanji
Characters of Chinese origin used extensively for lexical content.
Representative sample onlyJapanese Works in Two Directions
Unlike English, Japanese is routinely composed both horizontally and vertically. The direction depends on the layout and context, and both remain normal in modern use.
Horizontal · Yokogaki
Left to right
日本語を読む
Start left · finish right
Characters run left to right, lines progress top to bottom. The familiar direction for Japanese websites and most modern layouts.
Vertical · Tategaki
Top to bottom, columns right to left
日本語を読む
縦書きの例
Right column read first · then left
Characters run top to bottom. After finishing the rightmost column, reading continues at the top of the next column to its left.
Read the Characters
Japanese uses three writing systems together. Use the tabs to compare the two kana syllabaries and a representative kanji sample.
iHiragana and katakana show the 46 basic modern kana. Kanji uses thousands of characters, so the kanji panel is intentionally a representative sample.
あ
a
い
i
う
u
え
e
お
o
か
ka
き
ki
く
ku
け
ke
こ
ko
さ
sa
し
shi
す
su
せ
se
そ
so
た
ta
ち
chi
つ
tsu
て
te
と
to
な
na
に
ni
ぬ
nu
ね
ne
の
no
は
ha
ひ
hi
ふ
fu
へ
he
ほ
ho
ま
ma
み
mi
む
mu
め
me
も
mo
や
ya
ゆ
yu
よ
yo
ら
ra
り
ri
る
ru
れ
re
ろ
ro
わ
wa
を
wo
ん
n
ア
a
イ
i
ウ
u
エ
e
オ
o
カ
ka
キ
ki
ク
ku
ケ
ke
コ
ko
サ
sa
シ
shi
ス
su
セ
se
ソ
so
タ
ta
チ
chi
ツ
tsu
テ
te
ト
to
ナ
na
ニ
ni
ヌ
nu
ネ
ne
ノ
no
ハ
ha
ヒ
hi
フ
fu
ヘ
he
ホ
ho
マ
ma
ミ
mi
ム
mu
メ
me
モ
mo
ヤ
ya
ユ
yu
ヨ
yo
ラ
ra
リ
ri
ル
ru
レ
re
ロ
ro
ワ
wa
ヲ
wo
ン
n
日
本
人
山
川
水
火
木
金
土
月
年
国
語
学
生
大
小
These kanji are illustrative examples, not a frequency ranking. A kanji can have more than one reading depending on context, so this sample does not assign a single pronunciation to each character.
Japanese Beyond Japan
Japanese is concentrated overwhelmingly in Japan, but its international learning footprint is measurable. A Cambridge University Press reference describes Japanese as having about 125 million native speakers. Because global totals vary by source, year, and whether second-language users are counted, this page treats that figure as an approximate native-speaker scale rather than a live census.
Native-speaker scale
~125M
native speakers
Approximate global reference, not a current headcount of every Japanese user or learner.
JLPT 2025
1.65M
examinee records
Across the July and December 2025 Japanese-Language Proficiency Test administrations.
Global test reach
92
countries and areas
The JLPT's combined 2025 archive reports testing across 92 countries and areas.
Where 2025 JLPT examinee records came from
Adding the two 2025 administrations gives 918,719 overseas examinee records and 726,994 in Japan. These are test records, not a count of unique people, because someone could sit both administrations.
55.8% overseas44.2% Japan
Comparison note: Languages does not force the same regional comparison used by economic or population pages. For Japan, the strongest comparable international signal is the JLPT's directly measured overseas testing footprint. This avoids inventing a regional language-share ranking from incompatible datasets.
Japanese Learning Inside Japan
Japan's Immigration Services Agency surveys foreign residents about Japanese-language learning and ability. That gives this page a national, government-sourced view of language use that a simple speaker estimate cannot provide.
FY2024 foreign-resident survey
30.5%
said they already speak Japanese
Among respondents who were not studying Japanese, 30.5% selected "No need to study because I can already speak Japanese." This is a survey response among that subgroup, not a claim that 30.5% of all foreign residents are fluent.
Learning barriers
15.8%
cited high class or school fees
This was the most common reported difficulty with Japanese-language learning in the FY2024 survey, followed by lack of nearby free classes at 13.5%.
32.7%of Japanese-language learners surveyed reported no particular learning difficulties in FY2024.
13.5%reported that there were no free Japanese-language classes nearby.
Languages and Varieties at Risk
Japan is often perceived as linguistically uniform, but the national language landscape also includes Ainu and distinct regional language varieties with serious vitality concerns.
8
languages listed as endangered
Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs cites the eight entries for Japan in UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.
Critically endangered
AinuIndigenous language associated especially with Hokkaido and the Ainu people.
Severely endangered
Yaeyama · YonaguniSouthern Ryukyuan varieties of Japan's southwestern islands.
Definitely endangered
Hachijo · Amami · Kunigami · Okinawan · MiyakoRegional languages identified in the UNESCO atlas and discussed by Japan's cultural authorities.
Definition note: UNESCO's framework uses the term "language" for these eight entries. Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that common Japanese terminology may call several of them dialects. No speaker-count figures are shown here, since reliable current counts are not consistently available, particularly for Ainu.
Japanese: Official in Practice, Not by Statute
Japan's Common Core Document submitted to the United Nations human-rights treaty bodies (HRI/CORE/JPN/2019) states that Japanese is the country's official language "in effect" although it is not statutory. For that reason, this page labels Japanese a de facto national language rather than presenting a simplistic statutory-language claim. The same document identifies Ainu as the original language of the Ainu people and notes government support for promoting Ainu culture, including the language.
日本 = Nihon / NipponBoth readings are established. The Bank of Japan says there is no rule legally fixing one reading of 日本 over the other.
NIPPON GINKOThe Bank of Japan itself uses the Nippon reading in its romanized name and on banknotes, a concrete example of formal institutional usage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main language of Japan?
Japanese is the dominant national language, used throughout public life, education, and everyday communication.
How many people speak Japanese?
A Cambridge University Press reference gives an approximate scale of about 125 million native speakers. Global totals vary depending on year and whether second-language speakers are included, so the figure should be read as an estimate rather than a live census.
What is the JLPT?
The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test is a standardized test of Japanese-language proficiency for non-native speakers. In 2025, its two administrations recorded about 1.65 million examinee records across 92 countries and areas.
Does Japanese have an alphabet?
Not in the same sense as English. Modern Japanese combines kanji with the phonetic hiragana and katakana syllabaries.
Why are only some kanji shown here?
Because kanji is not a small alphabet. Japan's government-designated Joyo Kanji list alone contains 2,136 characters, so this page shows a representative sample, not the complete system.
Are there endangered languages in Japan?
Yes. Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs recognizes eight languages and dialects in Japan as endangered per UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, including Ainu and several Ryukyuan varieties.
Sources & methodology
Authoritative references supporting the data and definitions used on this page.
View sources used for this page
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan
Japan's endangered languages and dialects, including the eight entries and their UNESCO Atlas risk classifications.
Agency for Cultural Affairs: Joyo Kanji
Government-designated Joyo Kanji framework used for the 2,136-character headline figure.
Government of Japan: HRI/CORE/JPN/2019
Common Core Document submitted to United Nations human-rights treaty bodies. Paragraphs 10-11 cover Japanese as official "in effect" but not statutory, and the Ainu language.
Japanese-Language Proficiency Test: Official Statistics
2025 testing footprint, including 1,645,713 examinee records across the year's two administrations and 92 countries and areas.
Immigration Services Agency of Japan: Basic Survey on Foreign Residents FY2024
Government survey evidence on Japanese-language learning, barriers, reading ability, and reasons for not studying Japanese.
Bank of Japan: Reading of "Nihon" and "Nippon"
Explains that no rule fixes one reading of 日本 and that the Bank uses "Nippon Ginko."
Cambridge University Press language reference
Used only for the approximate global native-speaker scale of about 125 million. It is presented as an estimate, not a current census.
Unicode CLDR: Country/Region Names
Localized country display-name reference. CLDR names are customary UI/display names, not claims about a state’s full constitutional long-form name.
Unicode: Supported Scripts
Reference for the writing-system/script families represented in the character component.
Unicode: Writing Direction and Bidirectional Text
Reference for left-to-right and right-to-left script direction and bidirectional text behavior.
Unicode Character Database: NamesList
Reference for Unicode character names used as small readout labels under selected character samples; these labels are not presented as a complete transliteration standard.