Do I need JLPT to enrol in the Higher Diploma in Japanese Language Studies?

Not formally, but applicants should be at approximately JLPT N3 / CEFR B1 level by the start of the course. Intake placement is set by diagnostic, and admissions can advise on a short bridging module for applicants just below that level.

Does the Higher Diploma in Japanese Language Studies cover keigo properly?

Yes — keigo is treated as a central feature of the grammar core rather than as an afterthought. Sonkeigo, kenjogo and teineigo are taught systematically across business and formal contexts so students can use them correctly in working settings.

Will the Higher Diploma in Japanese Language Studies prepare me for JLPT N1?

The reading, listening and grammar level the course takes you to is broadly comparable to JLPT N2 / approaching N1. Students sitting JLPT externally regularly pass N2 or approach N1 by end of course; admissions can advise on London sittings.

Can I take the Higher Diploma in Japanese Language Studies online?

Yes. The online route uses synchronous tutorials, recorded reading and grammar sessions, and live conversation circles with Japanese-speaking tutors. Distance learners work on extended deadlines with weekly online speaking practice.

Higher Diploma in Japanese Language Studies | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Higher Diploma in Japanese Language Studies at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a fifteen-to-eighteen-month UK qualification that takes you from solid intermediate Japanese (CEFR B1) to advanced working competence (CEFR C1) across reading, listening, speaking and writing. You will move into substantial unmodified Japanese reading — Nikkei, Asahi, longform online media — handle formal business Japanese including keigo, and produce written work at a level a Japanese employer or postgraduate programme will recognise as advanced.

The Higher Diploma in Japanese Language Studies is taught in dialogue with the Japan Foundation's working-language framework and the Chartered Institute of Linguists' wider standards. The UK and Japan have one of the largest bilateral professional-services relationships in the world; this Higher Diploma is built for the careers it supports.

Key Features

UK Higher Diploma (Level 5) in Japanese — fifteen to eighteen months full-time, with online and distance routes.
Advanced grammar and keigo core — formal Japanese, business register, polite-form precision.
Unmodified reading module covering newspapers, business publications and longform online media.
Translation foundations — Japanese-to-English and English-to-Japanese at advanced introductory level.
Cultural and business literacy strand — contemporary Japanese society, business culture, regional differences.
Direct top-up into the final year of a UK Bachelor's degree at LSJHML or a partner university.

What You Will Learn

The Higher Diploma in Japanese Language Studies is structured around the working competences of a Japanese user moving from CEFR B1 to C1 — independent unmodified reading, advanced listening, business-register speaking and structured business writing. You graduate able to operate in Japanese in most professional settings short of literary translation or simultaneous interpreting at conference level.

Advanced Japanese grammar — complex sentence structures, advanced particles, conditional and causative forms.
Keigo — sonkeigo, kenjogo, teineigo, the full polite-form system in context.
Unmodified reading — Nikkei, Asahi Shimbun, longform business and current-affairs writing.
Advanced listening — current podcasts, news broadcasts, business panel discussion.
Business Japanese — corporate correspondence, meetings, presentations, telephone Japanese.
Translation foundations — equivalence, register, cultural transposition at advanced introductory level.
Cultural literacy — contemporary Japanese society, business culture, key institutions.
Japan-UK business context — bilateral commercial conventions, working culture, register awareness.

Who This Higher Diploma Is For

Working professionals with intermediate Japanese taking on Japan-markets responsibility.
Diploma-level Japanese graduates ready to advance to working business competence.
Bilingual professionals wanting a formal UK senior-level Japanese qualification.
Career-changers preparing to relocate to Japan for work, postgraduate study or research.

Career Pathways

Advanced Japanese is one of the highest-value language skills in the UK professional market, opening onto roles across financial services, technology, consulting, fashion, hospitality and the cultural sector. Typical post-Higher-Diploma destinations include:

Japanese Translator (commercial, business, cultural)
Japan Markets Analyst (financial services, consultancy, technology)
Bilingual Editor (JP/EN) (publisher, in-house corporate, cultural body)
Cultural Affairs Officer (Japan-UK cultural exchange, embassy-adjacent body)
Senior Bilingual Account Manager (UK firm with Japan markets exposure)
Japan Desk Specialist (international law firm, consultancy, professional services)

The Higher Diploma articulates directly into the final year of a UK BA in Japanese Studies or a related Modern Languages discipline at LSJHML or a partner university.

Entry Requirements

An Advanced Diploma (Level 5) or equivalent in a related subject, OR a Diploma plus two years of relevant work experience.
IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
Personal statement and CV — entry-level Japanese around CEFR B1 (or JLPT N3) is expected.
Mature applicants (25+) without standard qualifications may apply with significant senior-track work experience.

Why Study at LSJHML

The London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages is a specialist higher-education provider based in central London. Our programmes are designed in dialogue with working professionals — journalists, translators, civil servants, academics, broadcasters, editors, publishers and policy researchers — so what you learn in seminar on Monday is what your future employer is using on Tuesday. We deliberately keep cohorts small, give every student named tutor support, and treat employability as a structural part of every programme rather than an optional add-on.

London is the work — politics, courts, capital markets, theatre, broadcasting, publishing, public service, the global press. Your studies are taught in the same square mile where the stories you read about happen. Whether you join us on-campus, online or by distance learning, the city is your classroom and our industry network is your launchpad.