CPA Examination (Japan)公認会計士

Overview

The Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Examination is Japan's national exam for people who want to become certified public accountants. It is run by the Certified Public Accountants and Auditing Oversight Board (CPAAOB), which sits under the Financial Services Agency. The exam checks that candidates have the knowledge, and the ability to apply it, that a CPA needs.

It has two stages, both written. The short-answer exam is a marksheet (multiple-choice style) test held twice a year. The essay exam is held once a year, and only candidates who have cleared the short-answer stage can sit it. The official guide and website are in Japanese, and the exam is taken in Japanese. From the 2027 exam, parts of three short-answer papers are set in English.

Who can apply

There is no eligibility restriction on who may sit the exam. You do not need a particular degree or age.

Some candidates cannot enter the first short-answer round of the 2027 exam. If you passed the short-answer exam in 2025 or 2026, hold a full exemption from the short-answer stage, or are deemed to have passed it under the old exam system, you must apply for the second short-answer round instead.

Levels or stages

Short-answer exam

• Held twice a year, in a first round (December) and a second round (May).

• Four papers: financial accounting, managerial accounting, auditing and corporate law.

• Marksheet format.

• Parts of the financial accounting, managerial accounting and auditing papers are set in English from the 2027 exam.

Essay exam

• Held once a year, over three days in August.

• You can sit it if you passed that year's short-answer exam, hold a full short-answer exemption, or are deemed to have passed the short-answer stage under the old system.

• Papers: accounting (morning and afternoon sessions), auditing, corporate law, tax law and one elective.

• You choose the elective from business administration, economics, civil law or statistics. You must choose it when you apply, and it cannot be changed afterwards.

Exam pattern

Short-answer exam

For the first round on 13 December 2026, the papers run in this order: corporate law (from 9:30), managerial accounting (from 11:15), auditing (from 13:45) and financial accounting (from 15:30).

Essay exam

For the 2027 essay exam, auditing and tax law are on 20 August, the two accounting sessions are on 21 August, and corporate law and the elective are on 22 August. For the afternoon accounting session, auditing, corporate law, tax law and civil law, the board hands out a reference set of laws and standards for use during the exam.

Exams are held in many places, including Tokyo, Osaka, Hokkaido, Miyagi, Aichi, Ishikawa, Hiroshima, Kagawa, Kumamoto, Fukuoka and Okinawa. You pick your exam region when you apply, and it cannot be changed afterwards.

Syllabus

The board describes the subjects as follows.

• Accounting: financial accounting covers bookkeeping, financial statements and accounting theory for external users. Managerial accounting covers cost accounting and accounting theory for internal decision-making and performance management.

• Auditing: the audit system and audit standards under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and the Companies Act, plus audit theory.

• Corporate law: the Companies Act, the Commercial Code (excluding maritime commerce, bills and cheques), the disclosure parts of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, and laws on other bodies that must be audited.

• Tax law (essay only): corporate tax, income tax, general principles of tax law, consumption tax, inheritance tax and other specific taxes.

• Electives (essay only): business administration (management and financial management basics); economics (microeconomics, macroeconomics and related theory); civil law (mainly Books 1 to 3 of the Civil Code, plus Books 4 and 5 and related special laws); statistics (descriptive and inferential statistics, and basic financial engineering).

For the 2027 exam, the first short-answer round uses laws in force on 1 April 2026. The second round and the essay exam use laws in force on 1 April 2027, except tax law, which uses 1 January 2027. The board publishes a detailed scope outline for each exam on its website.

Marking and results

• Short-answer pass mark: the board aims for about 70% of total marks and sets the actual ratio it judges appropriate. A candidate who scores below 40% of full marks in a paper, and also falls at or below the score of the lowest 33% of candidates, can fail even with a passing total.

• Essay pass mark: the board aims for a score ratio of 52% to 54% of total marks and sets the actual ratio it judges appropriate. A candidate with a score ratio under 40% in any paper may fail. From the 2027 exam, the board plans to raise the target from 52% to 54% in steps over three to four years.

• Exemptions and marking: if you hold an exemption for a paper, your result is judged on the remaining papers only.

• Partial essay exemption: candidates whose score in an essay paper reaches a level the board sets, based on the average ratio of that year's essay passers, earn an exemption for that paper. You can use it in essay exams held within two years of the results announcement.

Important dates

For the 2027 exam, as published in the official guide and schedule:

For the 2026 exam, the essay exam is on 21 to 23 August 2026, with results planned for 20 November 2026.

The board may change dates because of natural disasters or similar events, and it posts any change on its website. Check its exam information page before the exam.

Fees

For the 2027 exam, the exam fee is 19,500 yen. The fee is not refunded if you do not sit the exam. For the first short-answer round, the application is not accepted until the fee is paid, and the deadline is 18 September 2026.

How to apply

Applications are online only, through the board's application site. The steps for the first round of the 2027 exam are:

1. Open the application site from the board's website and register an ID. Your email address is your ID. IDs from earlier exams no longer work.

2. Enter your details. If you are claiming an exemption, also enter the number from the top right of your exemption or pass notice.

3. Pay the 19,500 yen fee by Pay-easy, using an ATM or internet banking. The system does not issue a receipt.

4. On 13 November 2026 you get an email. Download your admission ticket and photo slip by 9:00 on 13 December 2026, print them on A4 paper and glue them together as instructed. The photo is passport size, 4.5 cm by 3.5 cm.

5. Bring the admission ticket, the photo slip and valid photo identification to the exam.

Candidates who sit the August 2026 essay exam may ask to defer the fee for the first round until results are out. If they fail the essay exam, they then get a window in November 2026 to pay.

For the 2027 exam, the accepted identification documents are limited to a driving licence, My Number card, passport, student card, employee card, disability certificate, residence card or special permanent resident certificate. The document must show a photo and a birth date, and must be in date. Earplugs are banned during the exam from 2027.

If you need special arrangements, such as for a disability or pregnancy, contact the board before applying and send the documents by the deadline. For the first round, that deadline is 17 September 2026.

After the exam

• Short-answer pass: a pass lets you sit the essay exam in the same year. Keep your admission ticket, because the essay exam uses the same one. A short-answer pass in 2025 or 2026 also gives an exemption from the short-answer stage in later exams.

• Essay results: for the 2026 exam, the board plans to mail pass certificates in early December 2026.

• Exemption notices: you must have your exemption or pass notice to claim an exemption. The board does not reissue lost ones, but it issues certificates instead. For the first round of the 2027 exam, request a certificate by 3 September 2026.

• Registration as a CPA: the Financial Services Agency publishes separate information on what happens after you pass.

FAQs