The flash anzan kentei tests mental arithmetic on numbers that flash on a screen one at a time. This guide sets out the ladder the Flash Anzan Kentei Association publishes, who else grades flash anzan and how a sitting is marked. Kani Math's practice ladder is modelled on it, and every level has a free practice sitting that runs in the browser.
Checked against the published pages on 23 September 2026.
Each tier has its own page with a practice sitting at the top, a table of its levels, one sample sequence per level and notes on how to practise. Every level below shows how many numbers flash, how many digits each has and how long the whole sequence takes.
Single digits that never carry from 20 to 13 kyu, then 2-digit numbers without carrying at 12 and 11 kyu.
2-digit numbers with carrying, from 2 numbers at 10 kyu to 15 at 1 kyu.
Shodan at 2 digits, then 3-digit numbers from 2nd dan, down to 3 seconds for 15 numbers at 10th dan.
A fixed count of 3-digit numbers with less time at every level, down to 1.5 seconds at 20th dan.
Choose any of the 40 levels and start. A sitting is ten questions: the numbers flash, then you type the total. There is no time limit on answering, and the result gives your score, the band it falls in and every missed sequence beside its answer.
20 kyu3 × 1-digit, 5 s
In flash anzan (flash mental arithmetic), numbers appear on a computer or tablet screen one after another, and the total is worked out in the head, with no abacus or other tool. That is how the glossary of the Japan Soroban Museum, run by Zenshuren, defines it. In soroban teaching, a student keeps the running total by picturing the beads and moving them in the mind as each number appears; the exam itself checks only the answer.
A flash anzan kentei grades that skill in levels. Each level fixes how many digits the numbers have, how many numbers flash in one question and how long the whole sequence takes. It is an exam of its own: neither soroban federation's written anzan kentei, where the problems are printed on paper, includes flash anzan.
The ladder on these pages follows the one the Japan Flash Anzan Kentei Association (Nihon Flash Anzan Kentei Kyokai) publishes for its online kentei: 40 levels, from 20 kyu up to 20th dan. Kani Math is not that association and runs no exam. It offers a practice ladder modelled on the association's, with a ten-question sitting at every level, marked with the same pass and semi-pass bands.
Several bodies in Japan run flash anzan exams, each with its own ladder and marking. The Japan Flash Anzan Kentei Association (Nihon Flash Anzan Kentei Kyokai) runs an online flash anzan kentei from 20 kyu to 20th dan. It publishes the digit width, the count of numbers and the time for its levels, marks a sitting of ten questions, and its exams have had the backing of Japan's education ministry (MEXT) since 1 February 2023.
The League for Soroban Education of Japan (Zenshuren) runs its own flash anzan exam, from 20 kyu to 1 kyu and from shodan (1st dan) to 10th dan. Every level has 15 problems at 10 points each, and 100 points or more passes. In its joint 30-problem dan sitting, shodan starts at 100 points, each further 20 points adds a dan, and 10th dan needs 280 or more. Zenshuren does not publish digit widths or speeds for its levels.
The League of Japan Abacus Associations (Nishuren) has run its flash anzan exam together with the Flash Anzan Kentei Association since 1 April 2026. A fourth body, the Zenkoku Shuzan Gakko Renmei, also runs a flash anzan exam; its specifications sit in a members-only area and are not public.
A body with a similar name, the Nihon Flash Anzan Kyokai, keeps a list of flash anzan records. It is a separate organisation from the Flash Anzan Kentei Association, and it is not the body behind the kentei described on these pages.
Kani's ladder has the same 40 levels, in the same order, as the one the Flash Anzan Kentei Association publishes. Each level is a digit width, a count of numbers and a total time; the time each number gets is simply the total divided by the count. Difficulty does not climb along one line. At 10 kyu the count falls back to 2 numbers, because carrying starts there, and at 2nd dan the time resets to 4 seconds, because the numbers grow to 3 digits.
18 of the 40 rows match figures the Flash Anzan Kentei Association publishes, which we have quoted from its own pages. The note under each tier page’s table names them.
The other 22 rows are Kani practice settings. The association's ladder has these levels too, but we have not confirmed their figures from its pages, so the counts and times on them are the values Kani uses. The table notes name these rows too. For 17 to 14 kyu, its table does confirm that the numbers are single digits and never carry; only the counts and times there are Kani's.
For the first three levels, 20 to 18 kyu, the Flash Anzan Kentei Association's online kentei table gives no time at all, while its page for schools gives 5, 5 and 7 seconds. Kani uses the school page's times, because a flash needs a pace. The online table calls these first levels image levels: single digits, no carrying.
The numbers in each question are Kani's too. The Flash Anzan Kentei Association does not publish its questions, so every sequence in a Kani sitting is generated to the level's settings, and the rules for what may appear, such as no carrying up to 11 kyu and addition only from 10 kyu, are Kani's reading of the ladder. Each tier page sets them out.
A sitting at the Flash Anzan Kentei Association has ten questions. Seven or more correct, which is 70 points, is a pass (gokaku). A score of 50 or 60 points is a semi-pass (junkaku), and 40 points or fewer is not a pass. A pass earns a certificate, free as a PDF, with a posted copy for an extra 800 yen.
After a semi-pass or a fail on the first attempt at a level, the Flash Anzan Kentei Association allows one free retake of the same level within 14 days. A semi-pass is retaken at that level: a semi-pass at 1 kyu retakes 1 kyu, not shodan.
The Flash Anzan Kentei Association's online kentei does not allow skipping levels (tobikyu).
Kani's practice sittings keep the bands and leave the rest out. Any level can be chosen at any time, there is no waiting period between sittings, and a pass shows a results card rather than a certificate. A Kani result is practice, not a grade.
Each number gets an equal share of the level's total time, counted in screen frames, with a blank beat before the next so two equal numbers never merge. If the screen drops a frame and a number is cut short, or the page is hidden, that question is replaced with a fresh one and the result says so.
Every sequence is generated for the level you choose: its digit width, its count, and the carrying and addition rules of its tier. A new set of ten is drawn each time you start, and a sitting avoids repeating a sequence.
Ten points a question: 70 or more is a pass, 50 or 60 a semi-pass. The answer field appears after the last number, there is no clock on answering, and every miss is shown with its sequence and total.
From 9th dan the numbers flash more than three times a second, so a warning comes first. From 12th dan each number is on screen for less than 0.18 seconds, and you tick a box before the sitting starts.
The Guinness World Records title for the fastest flash mental arithmetic, fifteen 3-digit numbers, stands at 1.61 seconds, set on 18 February 2024 at the 72nd Nakano Abacus Competition in Tokyo.
It is a competition record, not a grade standard. On the Flash Anzan Kentei Association's ladder, 20th dan flashes 15 numbers of 3 digits in 1.5 seconds, which looks faster on paper, but the two are not measured the same way: a level is passed with seven of ten questions correct in an online sitting, while a record is set once under competition rules. Neither number says anything about the other.
From 9th dan up, the numbers flash more than three times a second: 300 milliseconds a number at 9th dan, and 100 at 20th dan. Flashing at that rate can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. If anyone watching has it, or flashing lights make them feel unwell, do not run these levels.
Kani's sitting shows a warning before any of these levels, and from 12th dan, where each number is on screen for less than 0.18 seconds, it asks you to tick a box before it starts. The digits appear in a fixed box with no animation, glow or sound. The sample sequences on these pages are printed, never flashed.
The Flash Anzan Kentei Association's table starts at 20 kyu with 3 single-digit numbers in 5 seconds, and its online kentei does not let a candidate skip levels. Whether a first-time candidate may begin above 20 kyu is not stated on the pages we checked, so ask whoever arranges the sitting.
For practice here, open the tier that looks right, sit a level and let the results decide the next step. Seven or more correct suggests trying the level above; fewer than five suggests the level below.
A child who is new to flash anzan but already works on the soroban can begin in the first tier, where the numbers are single digits and nothing carries. A child who can already add 2-digit numbers mentally can try 10 kyu, where carrying starts. Sittings are free, so trying two or three levels in one session is the quickest way to find the right one.
Kani Math is a daily practice app for mental arithmetic and the soroban, not a kentei course or exam-preparation material.
Kani Math is not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by the Japan Flash Anzan Kentei Association (Nihon Flash Anzan Kentei Kyokai), the League for Soroban Education of Japan (Zenshuren), the League of Japan Abacus Associations (Nishuren) or any other exam body. The levels on these pages are a practice ladder modelled on the one that association publishes: levels the table notes name as Kani practice settings carry Kani's own values, every sequence is generated by Kani, and a practice result is not a certification. Flash Anzan is a trademark of its owner. Exam details can change, so confirm them with whoever runs your sitting.