Emergency Numbers for Japan

Fire Department or Ambulance (☎119)

In the event of a fire or medical emergency, dial 119.

While English (and a handful of other foreign languages) is supported (they will connect to a 3rd-party interpreter), this takes time. As such, it would be prudent to learn enough Japanese to let them know 火事です (kaji desu) for a fire and 救急 (Kyūkyū) when an ambulance is needed.

If you or someone is sick or injured but are unsure whether you need an ambulance, please call #7119.

Other Emergency Numbers

Trouble on the Water (☎118)

If you find yourself in trouble while at sea within Japanese waters, the emergency number to contact the Japanese Coast Guard is 118.

Disaster Line (☎171)

During disasters (such as earthquakes) 171 Disaster Line is a message board where you can record a voice message and have friends or family automatically notified. To record a voice message:

• dial 171
• then, dial 1 followed by the family member's phone number

To hear your message, the other party will need to:

• dial 171
• then, dial 2 and the their phone number

It should be noted that this service is only available to domestic (Japan) telephone numbers.

To notify overseas family of your safety status, you can post messages via NTT's Web 171 service.

That said, if you can connect to the internet for this service, then you can probably just pop off an email to your family and/or leave an "I'm safe..." message on Facebook or other social media.

Reporting Child Abuse (☎189)

189 is an emergency contact number for reporting child abuse. Use cases include when you see a child being abused, or even when you yourself abuse a child due to the stress of raising a child.