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Key Facts: Information Technology Service Manager Examination Exam

7,500 JPY

Exam fee (tax included)

IPA スケジュール、手数料など

60/100 + Rank A

A-1/A-2/B-1 cutoff and B-2 essay rank

IPA 試験要綱 Ver.5.6

30 + 25 MCQ

Official A-1 and A-2 item counts

IPA ITサービスマネージャ試験

Level 4

IT Skill Standards (ITSS) ranking

IPA ITサービスマネージャ試験シラバス（レベル4）

Japan's national ITSS Level 4 IT service-manager exam, run by IPA for METI. Fee 7,500 JPY (tax included); Japanese CBT with MCQ, descriptive, and essay papers. This bank is independent English MCQ study, not an official translation.

Sample Information Technology Service Manager Examination Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the Information Technology Service Manager Examination exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1A disk array uses RAID 5 with five 2 TB data disks and no hot spare. What is the usable storage capacity for user data?
A.10 TB
B.8 TB
C.6 TB
D.4 TB
Explanation: RAID 5 stores distributed parity equal to one disk's capacity, so usable capacity is (n − 1) times the capacity of one member disk. With five 2 TB disks that is 4 × 2 TB = 8 TB. The array can continue after a single disk failure, but the parity overhead is not available as user data.
2In public-key cryptography as tested in IPA common knowledge, which statement correctly describes how a digital signature is created so a recipient can verify both integrity and origin?
A.The sender encrypts the entire message with the recipient's public key
B.The sender encrypts a hash of the message with the sender's private key
C.The sender encrypts a hash of the message with the recipient's private key
D.The sender encrypts the entire message with a shared secret that is never hashed
Explanation: A digital signature is produced by hashing the message and encrypting that hash with the sender's private key. The recipient decrypts the signature with the sender's public key and compares it with a freshly computed hash. Encrypting the whole message with the recipient's public key provides confidentiality, not a signature.
3A relation has attributes EmployeeID (primary key), DepartmentID, and DepartmentName. DepartmentName is determined by DepartmentID, and DepartmentID is determined by EmployeeID. Which normal form is violated, and how is it resolved?
A.First normal form is violated; split repeating groups into separate rows
B.Second normal form is violated; move a partial-key attribute into another relation
C.Third normal form is violated; place DepartmentID and DepartmentName in a department relation referenced by EmployeeID
D.Boyce-Codd normal form is already satisfied, so no decomposition is required
Explanation: EmployeeID determines DepartmentID, and DepartmentID determines DepartmentName, so DepartmentName depends transitively on the primary key. Third normal form forbids that transitive dependency of a non-key attribute. Putting department data in its own relation removes the transitive dependency while Employee still stores DepartmentID as a foreign key.
4Which sequence correctly establishes a TCP connection in the three-way handshake?
A.SYN from client, ACK from server, SYN from client
B.SYN from client, SYN-ACK from server, ACK from client
C.ACK from client, SYN from server, SYN-ACK from client
D.FIN from client, FIN-ACK from server, ACK from client
Explanation: TCP connection setup uses SYN from the client, SYN-ACK from the server, then ACK from the client. That three-way exchange synchronizes sequence numbers in both directions before data transfer. FIN segments belong to connection teardown, not establishment.
5A sender wants to send a confidential file so that only the intended recipient can read it, using public-key encryption of a session key. Which key encrypts that session key?
A.The sender's public key
B.The sender's private key
C.The recipient's public key
D.The recipient's private key
Explanation: Confidentiality is obtained by encrypting a symmetric session key with the recipient's public key. Only the holder of the matching private key can decrypt the session key and then the file. The sender's keys are used for signatures, not for encrypting a message to someone else.
6Earned value management reports EV = 800,000 JPY and AC = 1,000,000 JPY. What is the cost performance index (CPI), and what does it mean?
A.CPI = 1.25; the project is under budget
B.CPI = 0.80; the project is over budget
C.CPI = 0.80; the project is behind schedule
D.CPI = 1.25; the project is ahead of schedule
Explanation: CPI is EV divided by AC, so 800,000 / 1,000,000 = 0.80. A CPI below 1 means more actual cost was consumed than earned value, so the project is over budget. Schedule status requires SPI (EV/PV), which is not given.
7Under Japan's Copyright Act (著作権法) as commonly tested in IPA legal items, what is the general term of protection for a work of authorship after the author's death?
A.30 years after the author's death
B.50 years after the author's death
C.70 years after the author's death
D.Protection ends when the author dies
Explanation: Japan extended the general copyright term from 50 years to 70 years after the author's death in the 2018 TPP-related amendment, which took effect on 30 December 2018. IPA 法務 items use this 70-year term for ordinary works. Neighbouring-right terms and some categories can differ, but the standard author's-right term is 70 years after death.
8Under Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information (個人情報保護法), which leakage scenario is a typical statutory trigger for reporting to the Personal Information Protection Commission and notifying affected individuals?
A.An internal move of non-sensitive mailing addresses between two servers in the same locked computer room with no exposure
B.Leakage or likely leakage of sensitive personal information (要配慮個人情報)
C.A scheduled power-maintenance outage that made a website unavailable but did not expose personal data
D.Loss of a device that stores only encrypted personal data where decryption is treated as practically impossible under PPC guidance
Explanation: Mandatory reporting and individual notification under the revised APPI are triggered by specified high-risk cases, including leakage or likely leakage of sensitive personal information (要配慮個人情報). A mere internal transfer, a pure availability outage, or a loss where advanced encryption makes viewing practically impossible is not treated as the same reporting event.
9Which act is prohibited as unauthorized computer access (不正アクセス行為) under Japan's Unauthorized Computer Access Act?
A.Port-scanning hosts on a network the operator owns, as part of authorized administration
B.Using another person's identification code via a telecommunications line to access a computer without the access administrator's authorization
C.Failing to lock a screen on a PC that one is already authorized to use
D.Asking the access administrator in writing for a new password after forgetting one's own
Explanation: The Unauthorized Computer Access Act prohibits accessing a computer through a telecommunications line by using another person's identification code without authorization, or by attacking the access-control function. Authorized scanning of systems one administers, poor screen hygiene, and requesting a legitimate password reset are not that offense.
10In a distributed database, what is the purpose of the two-phase commit protocol?
A.To encrypt every replica with a different public key before writing
B.To ensure that all participating resource managers either commit or abort a global transaction together
C.To replace locking with timestamp ordering for every local read
D.To convert a logical backup into an incremental backup automatically
Explanation: Two-phase commit uses a prepare (voting) phase and a commit phase so that every participant either commits or aborts the same global transaction. That preserves atomicity across resource managers. It does not itself provide encryption, concurrency-method substitution, or backup-format conversion.

About the Information Technology Service Manager Examination Exam

The Information Technology Service Manager Examination (ITサービスマネージャ試験, SM) is Japan's national ITSS Level 4 exam for people who direct IT service management. IPA administers it for METI. The 2026 fee is 7,500 JPY (tax included). Candidates sit Japanese CBT: 30 common MCQs, 25 specialist MCQs, two of three descriptive cases, and one essay. A pass requires 60 of 100 on A-1, A-2, and B-1 plus Rank A on B-2. OpenExamPrep publishes 100 independent English multiple-choice study questions on the published syllabus. This bank is not an official translation, not a 2026 CBT item clone, not an ITIL exam substitute, and not a substitute for Japanese essay practice.

Exam sponsor: 独立行政法人情報処理推進機構 (IPA / Innovation Platform Agency, Japan) under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Assessment

Japanese CBT in the FY2026 first-half (前期) window. Subject A group and Subject B group are reserved on separate days. Multi-stage scoring applies. Paper sittings are a special measure only.

Time Limit

A-1 50 min; A-2 40 min; B-1 90 min; B-2 120 min, with A group and B group on separate 2026 CBT days.

Passing Score

60 of 100 on A-1, A-2, and B-1, plus Rank A on B-2. IPA may adjust numeric cutoffs if difficulty requires it.

Exam / Certification Fees

7,500 JPY (tax included).

Exam sponsor website

Fees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.

Official sources

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

25% of this local practice set

Common IT knowledge (Subject A-1)

Shared advanced-exam knowledge. IPA does not publish SM domain percentages.

25% of this local practice set

Service management system and improvement

SMS plan-do-check-act and continual improvement.

25% of this local practice set

Service operation, incidents, and problems

Operations leadership and incident/problem handling.

25% of this local practice set

Change, SLAs, suppliers, and facilities

Change/transition, SLA and supplier management, and facilities.

Preparing for the Information Technology Service Manager Examination Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: 60 of 100 on A-1, A-2, and B-1, plus Rank A on B-2. IPA may adjust numeric cutoffs if difficulty requires it.
  • Assessment: Japanese CBT in the FY2026 first-half (前期) window. Subject A group and Subject B group are reserved on separate days. Multi-stage scoring applies. Paper sittings are a special measure only.
  • Time limit: A-1 50 min; A-2 40 min; B-1 90 min; B-2 120 min, with A group and B group on separate 2026 CBT days.
  • Exam / certification fees: 7,500 JPY (tax included). Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

  • Work through all 100 available questions
  • Review every answer and explanation
  • Track weak areas and revisit them
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

Information Technology Service Manager Examination: Suggested Study Strategy

1Stay inside IPA SM / JIS Q 20000-style service-management vocabulary used in the syllabus; do not treat ITIL process names as official IPA law.
2Work availability and SLA calculations from stated figures.
3Practice Japanese B-1/B-2 from IPA past papers; this English bank cannot replace essay writing.
4A-1 is shared with other advanced exams; SM A-2/B decide the specialist result.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the passing score for the SM examination?

IPA requires at least 60 of 100 on Subjects A-1, A-2, and B-1, and Rank A on essay Subject B-2 (試験要綱 Ver.5.6). Multi-stage selection applies.

Is this the same exam as ITIL 4 Foundation?

No. This is Japan's national IT Service Manager Examination administered by IPA. ITIL 4 Foundation is a separate PeopleCert/AXELOS product.

How is the 2026 examination structured?

Japanese CBT in the spring window: A-1 30 MCQs/50 min, A-2 25 MCQs/40 min, B-1 3 descriptive/90 min (answer 2), B-2 2 essays/120 min (answer 1). A group and B group are on separate days.

Are these OpenExamPrep practice questions official IPA exam questions?

No. IPA administers the official Japanese examination. This bank is independent English MCQ study on published syllabus topics, not an essay simulation.

Is the exam changing after 2026?

IPA states that the current examination system ends with the FY2026 (令和8年度) administration and that a new examination system is planned from FY2027, following the METI/IPA review of the exam-division structure. FY2026 is also the year every division moved to CBT, and IPA no longer publishes live CBT questions. This practice set is built from the current published syllabus, so confirm IPA's 試験制度の見直し page before planning a sitting beyond FY2026.