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there are 4 levels of difficulty, ranging from 4 kyuu (easiest) to 1 kyuu (hardest). Difficulty increases exponentially, and the hardest are 2 kyuu and 1 kyuu. 1 kyuu is roughly the standard of a high school student and a 1 kyuu graduate should be considered competent enough in the language to enter a Japanese university. 2 kyuu is probably the minimum requirement to be able integrate with Japanese society comfortably. 3 kyuu/4 kyuu by comparison, is kacang putih and a typical Malaysian studying the language in a part time course should be able to clear them after 2 years of study, if not quicker.
IINM there will be a change in the frequency as well as the difficulty level of the exam in the next couple of years. For a long time, there were grouses over the once-a-year frequency, as well as the perceived difficulty gap between levels 3 and 2, and especially levels 2 and 1
The first problem will likely be addressed starting next year: there are plans to have the JLPT test 2x a year.
The 2nd problem will be addressed with the addition of another level 5 (5 kyuu) in 2009 or 2010 (I forget when). This will result in the current 4 kyuu and 3 kyuu "downgrading" to 5 and 4 respectively, while the current (old) 2 kyuu will be replaced by a 3 kyuu of slightly less difficulty than the old 2 kyuu and a "new" 2 kyuu that is between the "old" 2 kyuu and the current 1 kyuu in terms of difficulty.
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