How to plan your IT Passport prep

"I want to take the IT Passport (iパス) — but I don't know where to start."
We hear this all the time. This post lays out a simple, end-to-end plan you can actually follow.
The whole arc is 8 to 12 weeks, and 30–45 minutes a day is enough even if you have a full-time job.

1. Pick your target month first

A study plan without a deadline rarely survives the first weekend.
IT Passport is a CBT exam (computer-based), offered almost every day at test centers across Japan.
That's a blessing and a curse — because you can take it any time, you'll keep telling yourself "next month" forever.

The fix is simple: pick a date 8 to 12 weeks from today.
Mark it on your calendar in big ink, and finish the official booking within 3 days.
Locking in the date is the single most effective form of pressure on your future self.

2. Allocate time by 分野 (the three domains)

IT Passport is split into three 分野 (bun-ya, "domains"):

• ストラテジ系 (Strategy) — business strategy, law, accounting, etc. — ~35% of the exam
• マネジメント系 (Management) — project & service management — ~20%
• テクノロジ系 (Technology) — networks, databases, security, fundamentals — ~45%

The pass line is 60% overall AND at least 30% in each domain.
That means your top priority is never letting your weakest domain dip below 30%, then pushing the overall up to 60%.

In your first week, do one 20-question drill in each domain — three drills total — to see where you stand.
Open the category drill and run a set from each domain.
The domain with the lowest accuracy gets more of your study time going forward.

3. The daily 20-question drill

The trick to consistency is "same time, same volume, every day."
We recommend 20 questions a day — about 20 to 30 minutes.
On the commute, after lunch, the last 30 minutes before bed — pick whatever slot you can actually defend.

Every time you finish 20 questions, read the explanation for every one you got wrong.
The app gives you AI explanations on the spot (a Pro feature). It tells you not only why the correct answer is correct, but why each wrong option is wrong — which makes the concept stick far better than re-reading a textbook.

The key is not "answer and move on." It's "answer, read 1–2 minutes of explanation, then move on."

4. Weekend mock-exam cycle

Daily drills build knowledge, but they don't build the 100-questions-in-100-minutes stamina that the real exam demands.
Once a week — typically on a weekend — sit down and do a full mock exam.

Afterwards, check three things on the result page:

1. Did the overall score clear 60%?
2. Did each domain clear 30%?
3. Which domain are most of the wrong answers concentrated in?

Don't panic if you fall below 60% on the first one or two attempts.
That's data collection — you're learning where your weak spots are.

5. Review the questions you got wrong

Every wrong answer flows automatically into your review list.
If there's one thing to take away from this post, it's this:

The hours you spend redoing wrong answers are what decide pass vs. fail.

Getting a question right once doesn't mean you'll never forget it.
Redo each wrong question after 1 day, 3 days, and 1 week — three spaced repetitions — and it'll move into long-term memory (this is spaced repetition).

The review list gives you three strategies: "recently wrong," "frequently missed," and "long unseen."
In the final two weeks before the exam, focus on "frequently missed" — those are the hard rocks blocking your path to 60%.

6. One-week-out checklist

• Mock-exam overall score is consistently above 60%
• Every domain is at or above 30% (especially your weakest)
• Your "frequently missed" review list is cut in half from its peak
• You've confirmed the route to the test center
• You've prepared your ID for the exam day

Once you're there, the rest is sleep well the night before, do your usual 20-question drill as a warm-up on the day, and walk in.

Summary

• Pick a date and book within 3 days
• Allocate study time by domain — more for the weakest
• Weekday: 20-question drills · Weekend: full mock exam
• Redo wrong answers at spaced intervals (1d / 3d / 1w)

Small daily reps compound into a real gap on exam day.
Why not start with a single 20-question category drill right now?