Medical care and emergency assistance in Japan

This page includes only officially published contact details and procedures and is not medical or legal advice. Phone numbers and service hours may change, so check the linked official websites before travelling. If someone is seriously ill, call 119 directly.

Key points

Situation	Who to contact	Phone number
Police emergency	Police	110
Fire or ambulance emergency	Fire department	119
Illness, injury, disaster or need for assistance	JNTO Japan Visitor Hotline	050-3816-2787 (from overseas: +81-50-3816-2787)
Communicating with a hospital or pharmacy in Fukuoka City	Fukuoka City Medical Interpretation Call Centre	092-733-5429

• JNTO hotline: Available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, in English, Chinese and Korean.
• Fukuoka City Medical Interpretation Call Centre: Open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, in 20 languages (including English, Chinese and Korean). The service is free, but callers pay for the phone call.

Calling 119 for an ambulance or fire

Official instructions from the Fukuoka City Fire Bureau:

1. Call 119.
2. Say the language you speak, for example “English” or “Chinese”.
3. You will hear a Japanese-language waiting message. Do not hang up; wait for an interpreter to join.
4. When connected, answer the interpreter’s questions.

Give your address first. The official guidance says: “For 119 calls, start with the address (location)!” Knowing the location allows a fire engine or ambulance to be dispatched immediately. If you do not know the address, describe a nearby intersection, convenience store, park or other recognisable landmark.

Fukuoka City Fire Bureau’s interpretation service supports English, Chinese, Korean and other languages.

If you are ill or injured: hospitals and interpretation

Fukuoka City Medical Interpretation Call Centre

• Phone: 092-733-5429
• Service: Helps people who do not speak Japanese find medical institutions and provides two-way or three-way telephone interpretation between patients and hospitals or prescription pharmacies.
• Hours: 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
• Languages: 20 (English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Tagalog, Nepali, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Russian, Malay, Burmese, Khmer, Mongolian, Sinhala and Hindi).
• Cost: Free to use; callers pay the telephone charges.
• How to use: Call the number. The operator will ask which language you need before interpretation begins.

Finding a hospital yourself

Fukuoka City’s official page introduces the Fukuoka Medical Information Network (福岡医療情報ネット), which can be used to search for medical institutions currently seeing patients by consultation hours, medical specialty, area and other criteria: Fukuoka Medical Information Network.

The Japan Tourism Agency’s official guide explains that if you become ill, you can first contact the consultation service in the prefecture where you are staying or go directly to a medical institution based on your symptoms. The guide provides a medical-institution search tool: Guide for when you feel unwell (Traditional Chinese).

JNTO Japan Visitor Hotline

JNTO lists the following services: support in emergencies (including accidents and illness) and natural disasters, as well as general travel information. Phone: 050-3816-2787; available 24 hours a day in English, Chinese and Korean.

Before departure

• JNTO recommends taking out travel insurance before departure with adequate coverage.
• Save the phone numbers on this page in your phone.
• For Japanese phrases to show someone, see Useful Japanese phrases.
• JNTO’s information page also lists disaster-information apps, such as Safety tips.

Frequently asked questions

Can you call 119 if you do not speak Japanese?

Yes. Fukuoka City Fire Bureau offers interpretation. State your language and wait for the interpreter; do not hang up.

Will the Medical Interpretation Call Centre book a hospital appointment for you?

The official page describes introductions to medical institutions and interpretation between patients, hospitals and pharmacies. It does not mention making appointments on a patient’s behalf.

Do these phone numbers cost money to call?

The Fukuoka City Medical Interpretation Call Centre is free to use, but callers pay call charges. The official pages do not list charges for the other numbers.

Official links

• JNTO Japan Visitor Hotline
• JNTO Staying Safe in Japan
• Fukuoka City Medical Interpretation Call Centre
• Fukuoka City Fire Bureau: disaster guidance for foreign residents (emergency reports)