Japan Emergency Numbers: Who to Call for Police, Fire or an Ambulance
Contents
- 1. Japan’s emergency numbers at a glance
- 2. Calling 110 for the police
- 3. Calling 119 for a fire or ambulance
- 4. Calling 118 for emergencies at sea
- 5. A simple plan for getting help
- 6. The Japan Visitor Hotline: advice, not emergency dispatch
- 7. Disasters and your embassy
- 8. Mistakes to avoid
- 9. Frequently asked questions
In Japan, call 110 for the police and 119 for a fire or an ambulance. For an emergency at sea, call 118 to reach the Japan Coast Guard. If you need advice rather than an emergency response—for example, help finding a medical facility—JNTO’s Japan Visitor Hotline is available at 050-3816-2787. These numbers connect to different services, so choose the one that matches what is happening.
| Number | Service | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| 110 | Police | Accidents and crimes, including robbery or assault |
| 119 | Fire department; fire or ambulance response | Fires, traffic accidents, serious illness or injury |
| 118 | Japan Coast Guard | Emergencies and incidents at sea |
| 050-3816-2787 | JNTO Japan Visitor Hotline—not an emergency service | Advice about accidents, illness, disasters, tourist information and finding medical facilities |
The emergency numbers 110, 119 and 118 do not require an area code. The most important point to remember is that fire and ambulance share 119; Japan does not use a separate ambulance number. For an immediate threat to life, call the appropriate emergency service first, rather than the Visitor Hotline.
Japan’s emergency numbers at a glance
Japan has three short emergency numbers, each for a different service. Use 110 for police, 119 for fire or ambulance, and 118 for emergencies at sea. The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) lists 110 and 119 for police, fire and medical emergencies, while the Japan Coast Guard identifies 118 as its emergency number for incidents at sea (JNTO: Japan Visitor Hotline; Japan Coast Guard: Call 118).
If someone is seriously ill or injured, or there is a fire, call 119; do not look for a separate ambulance number. If a crime or accident needs police attention, call 110. For a person in trouble in the water, an oil spill or a suspicious boat, call 118.
| Number | What to report | Useful qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 110 | Police matter, such as an accident, robbery or assault | JNTO lists a separate number for lost items if there was no crime |
| 119 | Fire, traffic accident, serious illness or injury | The same number is used for fire and ambulance |
| 118 | A sea accident or incident | Do not use it for non-urgent questions |
| 050-3816-2787 | Tourist advice, including help finding a medical facility | Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; it is not an emergency-response service |
The Visitor Hotline is different from the three emergency numbers: it provides advice and tourist information, rather than dispatching police, firefighters or an ambulance. JNTO lists English, Chinese and Korean support for the hotline. It does not provide three-way interpretation calls or make bookings and appointments for callers (JNTO: Japan Visitor Hotline; JNTO: Guide for when you are feeling ill).
Calling 110 for the police
Call 110 when you need the police for an accident or a crime. JNTO gives robbery and assault as examples of crimes for which you may call the police. If someone has hurt or threatened you, or there has been a theft involving force, 110 is the relevant emergency number.
A traffic accident is also among the situations JNTO lists for police assistance. Explain what happened and where you are as clearly as you can. If you are unsure of an address, open a map app or use the address shown on your hotel information so you can give the dispatcher a location.
A lost item by itself is different from a robbery or another crime. JNTO lists 0570-550-142 for lost items, so use that number if something has simply gone missing and no one is in danger. Call 110 if the loss involved a crime that needs police attention (JNTO: Japan Visitor Hotline).
Calling 119 for a fire or ambulance
Call 119 for a fire, a traffic accident, or a serious illness or injury. The same number is used to request either a fire truck or an ambulance, so visitors should not wait for a separate medical-emergency number. JNTO identifies these as reasons to contact the fire department and ambulance service (JNTO: Japan Visitor Hotline; JNTO: Guide for when you are feeling ill).
Language support on 119
When someone calls 119 in a foreign language, Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency encourages fire departments to use a telephone interpretation center. The service can connect the caller, the dispatcher and an interpreter on a three-way call (Fire and Disaster Management Agency: Multilingual support for 119 calls). This is an encouraged arrangement, not a guarantee of the same language support in every location.
The languages and arrangements available can differ between fire departments, and the official information cited here does not establish a current, nationwide list of languages. If you are staying in one area for a while, check the local fire department’s website for its latest information. If you need help placing a call, you can ask someone nearby to assist; JNTO suggests showing a nearby Japanese person the phrase below when you need an ambulance.
救急車を呼んでください。
Please call an ambulance.
What to know about an ambulance
You cannot choose which hospital an ambulance takes you to; the ambulance team decides the destination. JNTO also advises that treatment may begin without staff first asking you many questions. It recommends completing a medical information form about yourself in advance, so that relevant information is ready if you need care (JNTO: Guide for when you are feeling ill).
If you are able to call, be ready to explain what has happened and where you are. Having your hotel address or a map app open can help you describe your location. If someone else can place the call while you stay with the injured or ill person, JNTO’s suggested phrase—「救急車を呼んでください。」—can help you ask them to call an ambulance.
Download the ambulance guide before you travel
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency publishes an Ambulance Guide for Foreign Visitors as a pamphlet and a flyer. It is available in 16 languages: English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Korean, Italian, French, Thai, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Portuguese, Nepali, Indonesian, Spanish, Burmese, Khmer and Mongolian. Download the guide in a language you can read before your trip, so it is available if you need it (Fire and Disaster Management Agency: Ambulance Guide for Foreign Visitors).
Calling 118 for emergencies at sea
Call 118 to reach the Japan Coast Guard for an emergency at sea. It is a three-digit emergency number with no area code. The Coast Guard says it can be called from a mobile phone, ship phone, public phone or landline (Japan Coast Guard: Call 118; Japan Coast Guard, 7th Regional Headquarters).
The Coast Guard lists examples including seeing or being involved in a sea accident, a person being hurt, an oil spill, a suspicious boat or a drifting wooden boat. It also asks people to report information about smuggling or illegal entry by sea. When you call, explain when, where and what happened, calmly and briefly.
Do not use 118 for general questions that are not urgent. The Coast Guard says wrong and prank calls interfere with real emergency reports; for non-urgent questions, contact a regional headquarters or the nearest Coast Guard office instead. JNTO’s Visitor Hotline page does not list 118, and the official information cited here does not explain how to call 118 from every foreign phone setup, so check with the Japan Coast Guard if that detail matters to you.
A simple plan for getting help
First, match the situation to the service: use 110 for police, 119 for fire or ambulance, and 118 for an emergency at sea. Do not use the Visitor Hotline as a substitute when a life is in danger. If the situation is not an emergency but you need advice or help locating medical care, the Visitor Hotline may be appropriate.
Next, make it possible for responders to understand what happened and where. Explain the incident briefly and calmly, and use a hotel address or map app to help describe your location. For 118 calls, the Coast Guard specifically asks callers to report when, where and what happened; this is a useful way to organize information for any emergency call.
If you do not speak Japanese, ask someone nearby to help if needed. For an ambulance, show them 「救急車を呼んでください。」 (“Please call an ambulance.”). Fire departments are encouraged to use telephone interpretation for foreign-language 119 calls, but the arrangements and supported languages vary by department.
Before you travel, save the relevant numbers in your phone and complete a medical information form if you can. Keep the form accessible, since JNTO advises that treatment may begin before staff ask many questions. If you need an ambulance, remember that the ambulance team—not the patient—chooses the hospital.
The Japan Visitor Hotline: advice, not emergency dispatch
JNTO’s Japan Visitor Hotline is intended for visitors who need advice or tourist information, including during an accident, illness or natural disaster. Its number in Japan is 050-3816-2787; from outside Japan, JNTO lists +81-50-3816-2787. The hotline is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with support in English, Chinese and Korean (JNTO: Japan Visitor Hotline).
JNTO says the hotline can help with general tourist information, emergencies such as accidents or illness, natural disasters, and finding medical facilities that speak foreign languages. It is useful for advice before or after an emergency, but it is not a replacement for 110, 119 or 118 when immediate response is needed. JNTO’s cited page does not confirm whether Japanese-language support is also available.
The hotline does not provide three-way interpretation calls and does not make bookings or appointments for you. If you need an ambulance or police response, call the emergency number first. The same JNTO page also lists 0570-550-142 for lost items and (03) 3503-8484 for general information in English and other foreign languages.
Finding a hospital or clinic
For help locating medical care, use JNTO’s medical facility search or call the Visitor Hotline. If the situation is an emergency requiring an ambulance, call 119 instead of treating a facility search as a substitute for emergency response. JNTO’s search allows you to look by area, language and medical department (JNTO: Guide for when you are feeling ill).
You can search from your current location, with up to 30 facilities displayed in distance order. The search can be filtered for “emergency” facilities that are open 24 hours, 365 days, and it identifies facilities with the JMIP mark, a third-party certification for hospitals that accept foreign patients. If you are unsure which department to select, JNTO advises choosing “General Medicine” (総合診療).
Before travelling to a facility, call to check its opening hours, the languages spoken and whether it can see you. The Visitor Hotline can also help you find a medical facility that speaks a foreign language. It does not make a booking or appointment for you, so confirm arrangements directly with the facility.
Disasters and your embassy
Japan experiences earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity and heavy rain, so check official information if a disaster occurs. JNTO’s Japan Safe Travel information shares warnings about earthquakes of seismic intensity 5-lower or greater, tsunamis, volcanoes and heavy rain, as well as J-Alert missile alerts. JNTO also posts information on X at @JapanSafeTravel and on Weibo (JNTO: Japan Safe Travel Information).
JNTO’s Safety tips app is available in English, Korean, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. The Visitor Hotline can also provide advice during a disaster. These tools provide information and guidance; they do not replace the emergency numbers if you need immediate police, fire or ambulance assistance (JNTO: Safety Tips for Travelers; JNTO: Japan Visitor Hotline).
To find your embassy’s contact details, use the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ list of foreign missions in Japan. The list is divided by region, including Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and includes addresses and phone numbers. Some honorary consulates note that consular and visa matters are handled through the embassy in Tokyo (MOFA: Foreign Missions in Japan—Asia; MOFA: Foreign Missions in Japan—Europe).
The regional pages cited here are Japanese-language pages; the English version could not be directly checked when this information was reviewed. Look up your country’s embassy before travelling, so you know where to find its contact details if you need them. JNTO’s medical guide does not provide embassy phone numbers and instead directs readers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs list.
Mistakes to avoid
One common mistake is trying a home-country emergency number, such as 911 or 112, instead of learning Japan’s numbers. Remember 110 for police and 119 for fire or ambulance; use 118 for a sea emergency. Another common point of confusion is looking for a separate ambulance number, even though fire and ambulance share 119.
Do not call the Visitor Hotline first when someone’s life is in danger. The hotline offers advice, but it is not an emergency-response service and does not provide three-way interpretation; call 110, 119 or 118 as appropriate. You can use the hotline for follow-up advice or help finding a medical facility.
Do not expect to choose the hospital if an ambulance takes you. The ambulance team decides where to take you, and JNTO recommends preparing a medical information form because treatment may begin before staff ask many questions. Finally, keep 118 for actual emergencies at sea; contact a Coast Guard office for non-urgent questions.
Frequently asked questions
What is the emergency number in Japan?
Call 110 for police and 119 for a fire or an ambulance. For emergencies at sea, call 118 to reach the Japan Coast Guard. Each number connects to a different service, so choose the one that matches the incident.
Can I speak English when calling 119?
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency encourages fire departments to use a telephone interpretation center for foreign-language 119 calls. The arrangement connects the caller, dispatcher and interpreter on a three-way call, but available languages and arrangements vary by fire department. The cited official information does not establish current English coverage nationwide, so ask someone nearby to help if you need support.
Is there a 24-hour help line for tourists?
Yes. JNTO’s Japan Visitor Hotline is 050-3816-2787 in Japan and +81-50-3816-2787 from outside Japan. It is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in English, Chinese and Korean. It provides advice and tourist information, but it is not a replacement for emergency services.
I lost my wallet. Which number should I call?
JNTO lists 0570-550-142 for lost items. If the wallet was simply misplaced and no one is in danger, use that number rather than calling 110. If it was stolen by force or another crime took place, contact the police on 110.
Can I choose which hospital the ambulance goes to?
No. JNTO states that the ambulance team decides which hospital to take you to. It also recommends filling in a medical information form before you need it, since treatment may start before staff ask you many questions.
What should I tell the operator?
Explain what happened and where you are, as clearly and briefly as you can. For a call to 118, the Japan Coast Guard specifically asks callers to say when and where the incident happened and what occurred. Having a hotel address or map app available can help you describe your location.
