Practical guides 09

Disasters and emergency contacts

Protect yourself first, then use official local information before deciding whether to move.

Source facts checked23 August 2026

Full article quality audit3 September 2026

READ THIS BEFORE YOU NEED IT

Useful before the trip—and in the moment.

For International visitors preparing for or travelling in Japan

Before you go

Read this before the issue becomes urgent. Save the key address, rule or phrase so it still works when your connection or attention is limited.

In Japan

Use only the first action and the section matching your situation. Current official instructions take priority over this general guide.

Picture this

An alert sounds in your hotel room and people in the corridor pause. Protect yourself from the immediate hazard, then open the responsible authority’s current instruction before deciding whether to move.

During an emergency or major disruption, protect yourself first and follow facility staff and local authorities. Emergency numbers are shown only after you confirm that urgent help is needed.

Before calling

Open only for an immediate emergency

In Japan, call 110 for an urgent police response and 119 for fire or ambulance. 911 is not Japan’s emergency number.

Confirm this is an emergency and show call buttons

Urgent police response110 Fire or ambulance119

If it is not an emergency

For visitor assistance, use the JNTO visitor hotline. For non-urgent police advice, contact a local police station or #9110; check official information for language and service hours.

JNTO visitor hotline National Police Agency consultation information

Do this first

Move away from falling objects and glass, and protect your head.
Near the coast, check tsunami alerts and move to higher ground when instructed.
Do not begin a long journey until official transport status is clear.
Use 110 for police emergencies and 119 for fire or ambulance.

What to expect in Japan

110 is for urgent police response; 119 is for fire or ambulance. Japan does not use 911 as its emergency number.
Mobile networks and transport can become congested after a major event.
For non-urgent visitor assistance, the JNTO visitor hotline provides 24-hour support in English, Chinese and Korean.

Show this in Japanese

避難場所はどこですか？

Where is the evacuation area?

04 · A REAL TRAVEL MOMENT

An alert is a cue to stop and read

Phones sound an alert and people around you pause. Before running outside or following an unverified post, protect yourself from immediate hazards and open the current information from the responsible authority. The correct action depends on the event, building and local instruction.

Preparedness is part of travelling responsibly in a disaster-prone country, but it should not turn the trip into constant fear. Learning one official information route, one meeting method and the difference between urgent and non-urgent help gives more freedom to enjoy the journey.

Take this practical check into a real journey.

After the immediate check, use the long-form journey guide to connect time, movement, the route home and what to do when the plan changes.

A typhoon may affect your next 24 hoursSeparate the typhoon track from local danger, protect the next essential move and use a simple four-check rhythm for weather, place, transport and accommodation.When Japan is above 35°CRead air temperature separately from WBGT, move the day away from midday and know the symptoms that mean sightseeing must stop.