Part 2 survival: reading the options before the audio, skimming email answers, protecting your focus for Part 3

The short version

Part 2 (聴読解, Listening and reading) is where candidates said they lost the most focus. The audio is short, the options are text, and some options are long enough that candidates reported they could not finish reading them in time. The tactics below are LangBytes advice. The timings candidates describe are reports, not organiser rules.

What is official, and what is not

• Official: Part 2 has 25 questions in about 30 minutes: 状況把握 (5), 資料聴読解 (10) and 総合聴読解 (10). You hear the audio and read a visual material or the options. You cannot go back. There is no break before Part 3. Brochure, April 2026 · FAQ
• Candidate report (November 2026): each Part 2 audio is under 30 seconds, you get about five seconds to answer afterwards, and long email-style options cannot always be finished in time.
• Candidate report: concentration drops in Part 2 and carries into Part 3. A candidate who scored J2 also said the language was fine but the business discussions, such as meetings, negotiations and email chains, were hard to follow even in their native language.

Read before you listen

The options are on screen while the audio plays. Use that time.

• Skim the options as soon as the item opens. Look for what differs between them: a date, a number, a person, a yes or a no, a polite verb.
• Guess the question. The audio will answer something. If the options are four different actions, expect a "what will the speaker do?" question. If they are four times, expect a schedule question.
• Keep your eyes on the material. In 資料聴読解 the table, notice or form is part of the question. Find the row or field the audio will most likely refer to.

Skim email-style options

• Start with the first clause. In a long option, the opening decides the action: お送りします, 確認します, 延期してください.
• Check the closing and any condition. A final ので, ただし or 場合は often makes one option wrong.
• Look for the subject. 弊社, 御社 and 私が show who acts. Wrong options often swap who does what.
• Eliminate before you read the rest. If the first clause contradicts the audio, move on. You do not need to read the other half of an option you have already rejected.

Protect your focus for Part 3

There is no break, and Part 3 is 30 questions in 30 minutes, so about one minute each.

• Reset between items. Breathe out, let the last item go, and read the next one fresh. Do not rerun what you just heard.
• Skip emotional recalculation. A hard Part 2 item will not become easier the longer you think about it, and you cannot go back to it.
• Train the whole run. Do Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 in one sitting at least twice before the test, so the Part 3 timing is practised when you are already tired.

How the LangBytes mock treats it

In exam-simulation mode there is no break between parts: the next part's clock starts the moment the last part ends. The options of a Part 2 item stay visible while the audio plays, and about five seconds after the audio ends the exam moves on. The clock for Part 3 starts as soon as Part 2 ends.

Sources

• BJT brochure, April 2026: part structure, question counts and minutes
• BJT FAQ (Japanese): no break; Parts 1 and 2 cannot be revisited
• Candidates' reports, November 2026: Part 2 pacing, long options, focus carry-over and business-content difficulty