Hi guys, haven't logged in for ages, but randomly coming across this topic, I was interested in answering some of the questions.

I've sat for JLPT N1, and have passed the exams. In my experience, the grammar part would need lots of drills, but for me listening was the easiest. I would attribute it to a personal experience of working in a Japanese environment for almost 8 years where I had to communicate in Japanese daily. I failed the exams once, which discouraged me from resitting it for quite a while. (It's okay to fail haha. It'll make you work harder) A handful of my non-Japanese colleagues did not pass on the first try too, but with some preserverance, you might be able to make it.

I majored in Japanese languages and linguistics, but upon graduation only obtained JLPT2. Put off taking the exams till last year. If there are any questions you might have, I would try to answer them the best I can. I've noticed the severe lack of classes available for N2 and N1, and would say that self-study is really crucial in obtaining that pass! Cheers and good luck.

Minna no Nihongo is a very good start. Even ICLS's in house textbook is kinda based off it. It can get you through N4 no doubt. It's like an early bible for Japanese Language learners. However the grammar part's explanation might not suffice without a proper teacher. Like the grammatical rules, and how/what situations to use certain phrases, or commit to certain changes in the 語尾 gobi（ending of the verbs）

For free test samples, try getting a membership at JFKL if you are in the Klang Valley to access their library. If I'm not mistakened there's also a photocopy machine so you can photostate some worksheets for reference. While preparing for N1, I downloaded a number of free apps for the drills, and a flashcard app for the Kanji. A quick search can show you the list of them.

If you are on a tight budget, and can read/understand Mandarin, there are workbooks in Kinokuniya published in Taiwan meant for JLPT. They are much MUCH cheaper than those published in Japan.

In summary, personally I feel that a good teacher with a good hold and understanding of the basic structures of the language is extremely important. Beyond N3, its a grey area where you are free to explore how you want to advance the language skill. Some I knew watched J-dramas, or we played a whole game in Japanese to get ourselves used to the native-way of the language usage. But the basics are always extremely essential.

So far I haven't heard of any, but if language incentives yes.

MNC companies tend to be MORE generous than Japanese companies for the language allowance in my experience.
You can try checking with your HR to see if there are such perks or subsidy for picking up an extra language.

Other variations are being allocated extra allowance based on your JLPT level.

It doesn't really answer your question, but its worth a try

I agree very much with you here. The difficult part isn't passing the JLPT, but the daily conversation in the corporate world. When I started at my first job, I made a lot of faux pas which was unacceptable for the Japanese, and it was difficult to understand what went wrong where. If you are speaking the language at that level, they expect you to already understand how their society works, and no, you will not be forgiven for something you said by mistake, or some wrong actions which you were not aware of.

In other words, if it goes to a certain extreme, you will be considered 'dead' by your Japanese colleagues, or the 'KY' one, as in 'kuuki yomenai', someone who isn't tactful. Don't expect anyone to tell you what you did wrong, you'll have to figure it out yourself. I was lucky to have a Malaysian senior who ws patient enough to explain and guide me, which was a real lifesaver.

So yeah, Japanese might have this extremely polite image, but the harsh reality of their working world is really different. If you aren't tactful or careful to catch what they are saying, indirectly to you, prepared to be 'dead' to them.