Japan Times Spelling Bee

What Is the Japan Times Spelling Bee?

Now officially called the Japan Spelling Bee (it ran under the name Japan Times Bee in its early years), this competition has been organized by The Japan Times since 2010 and is the only spelling contest in Japan officially endorsed by the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The national final is held each March in Tokyo, and the champion goes on to represent Japan at the Scripps finals in the United States.

The format is built around schools, not individual sign-ups: each registered school runs its own in-house bee and sends exactly one winner forward. A school that has separate elementary and middle school divisions registers — and sends a winner from — each division separately.

Who Can Participate?

Because the Japan winner advances to Scripps, eligibility mirrors Scripps' own rules: a student who hasn't yet passed the eighth grade and hasn't turned 15 by the relevant cutoff date. Both Japanese and international students attending a registered school in Japan are welcome to enter through their school's in-house bee.

Competition Format

The Japan Times Spelling Bee follows the classic oral spelling elimination format. Competitors stand before a panel of judges and spell their assigned word aloud, letter by letter. Before attempting to spell, contestants may ask the judges to:

• Repeat the word
• Use the word in a sentence
• Provide its definition
• State its language of origin
• Identify its part of speech

One error eliminates the competitor. The competition builds in difficulty across rounds, with the national final in Tokyo drawing the strongest competitors from schools across Japan.

The Word List and What to Study

Words at the Japan Times Spelling Bee are drawn from a broad academic English vocabulary spanning science, literature, history, and everyday language. Latin and Greek roots are strongly represented at advanced levels, as are words of French, German, and Old English origin.

For Japanese students, who approach English from a language with fundamentally different phonology and orthography, understanding the logic of English spelling through etymology is especially powerful. Rather than trying to match English sounds to katakana equivalents, the most effective competitors learn to recognise Latin and Greek word-building patterns — making the spelling of even unfamiliar words predictable and logical. Knowing that phon- means "sound" in Greek immediately explains telephone, microphone, and symphony without ever having memorised them directly.

How to Prepare Effectively

Preparing for the Japan Times Spelling Bee requires consistent, long-term study rather than short bursts of intensive memorisation. Here is what the top performers consistently do:

• Start at least 12 weeks before competition day — spaced repetition needs time to build lasting memory
• Study Latin and Greek word roots — especially valuable for Japanese learners approaching English logically
• Learn word patterns for French, German, and Old English borrowings
• Practise spelling aloud every day — essential for building verbal recall under pressure
• Use a spaced repetition system to review words at scientifically optimal intervals
• Simulate competition conditions — stand, speak clearly, and spell in front of others

Why the Japan Times Spelling Bee Stands Out

The Japan Times Spelling Bee holds a unique place in Japanese education. For students in a country where English is a crucial academic and professional skill, competing in a high-profile English spelling competition demonstrates a level of language mastery that goes well beyond the standard school curriculum.

The competition is associated with The Japan Times — a publication with over a century of history as Japan's leading English-language newspaper — which lends it a prestige and media visibility that few other academic competitions in Japan can match. Winning or placing highly is a distinction that stands out on any academic or university application, and the vocabulary and confidence built through preparation last a lifetime.