What number do you call in an emergency in Europe and in Japan?

Which number is which?

How does 112 work in the EU?

112 is free from landlines and mobiles everywhere in the EU. A trained operator answers and either handles the call or passes it to the right emergency service. Operators in many countries can also answer in English or French, and if you do not know where you are, the operator will work out your location and pass it on.¹

Some EU countries keep their national emergency numbers alongside 112, but 112 is the one number that works in all of them.² Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Sweden use 112 as their only national emergency number.¹

• A text when you arrive. Under the EU roaming rules, your mobile provider must text you about 112 when you travel to another EU country.¹
• Cars can call for you. New cars have eCall, which dials 112 automatically after a serious road accident and sends the car's location.¹
• Missing children. 116 000 is the hotline for reporting a missing child, available in all EU countries.²
• Real emergencies only. 112 operators do not give traffic or weather reports or general information.¹

Does 112 work outside the EU?

The Commission says 112 is also used in some countries outside the EU, such as Switzerland and South Africa, and is available worldwide on GSM mobile networks. Your Europe adds that 112 reaches the emergency services in many other countries in Europe and worldwide.¹²

That does not tell you which number local services expect. In Japan, the official guidance from the police and fire authorities gives 110 and 119.³⁵

How do I call the police in Japan?

The police ask people to call 110 without hesitation when an incident or accident needs an urgent response.³ If you do not speak Japanese, the police say they deal with 110 calls through officers with foreign-language skills in the command centres, and through three-way calls with interpreters.³

When you call 110 from a mobile, a system in use in every prefecture sends the police your location along with the call.³

The police also run a 110 app for people who cannot make a voice call, such as people with hearing impairments. It needs registration and a contract with a Japanese mobile company, and its chat screen does not support foreign languages.⁴

How do I call an ambulance or report a fire in Japan?

Call 119. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency's guide for visitors says the ambulance service is available for anyone in Japan.⁵

1. The dispatcher first asks whether it is a fire or a medical emergency.⁵
2. Give the location of the emergency, then describe the symptoms, give the patient's age, and give your name and a contact number.⁵
3. If the situation is serious, the ambulance is sent before all the questions have been asked.⁵
4. If there are people nearby who speak Japanese, ask them to help you call; stay calm and answer slowly.⁵

The agency suggests having your passport, cash or a credit card to pay at the hospital, and your current medication ready, and sending someone to meet the ambulance where it will arrive if you can.⁵

Is there a safety app for visitors to Japan?

Yes. The Japan Tourism Agency describes Safety tips as a disaster-information app for foreign visitors. It sends push notifications of earthquake early warnings, tsunami warnings, special weather warnings, volcanic eruption warnings, evacuation information and heatstroke information, and gathers disaster information in several languages.⁶ The agency's own page on the app says the agency supervises it and that it works in 15 languages.⁷

Download it through the links on the Japan Tourism Agency's pages rather than from copies elsewhere.

What this page cannot tell you

• Other non-EU countries on this site. We found no official page we could save that sets out emergency numbers for Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia or Türkiye, so we do not list them. The Commission's remark that 112 works on GSM networks worldwide is not a guarantee that local services answer it; check the country's official guidance.
• Language support varies. The Commission says operators in many EU countries, not all, can answer in English or French.
• Costs of care are separate. Calling is free in the EU; what treatment costs afterwards depends on the country and your cover.
• Not medical or safety advice. In an emergency, follow the operator's instructions.

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