Japanese ab initio Past Papers 2026

IB Japanese ab initio is a Group 2 Language Acquisition subject for students learning Japanese as an additional language at the ab initio (beginner) level. Japanese is spoken by approximately 125 million in Japan and Japanese diaspora communities worldwide. Japanese literature has a continuous tradition dating back over 1,300 years. The Tale of Genji (11th century) is often cited as the world's first novel. Japanese poetry forms — haiku, tanka, and renga — have influenced global literature. 20th-century Japanese writers achieved major international recognition.

IB Japanese ab initio is designed for students with little or no prior experience in this language. The course progresses from basic communication to managing the five IB prescribed themes by exam. Past papers include Paper 1 (reading comprehension on authentic texts) and Paper 2 (written production in an appropriate text type).