emergency
Ambulance
救急車 (kyūkyūsha)
In a medical emergency in Japan, dial 119 to request an ambulance. Paramedics will arrive and transport you to the nearest appropriate hospital. Ambulance transport itself is free at point of use, though you will be billed separately for hospital treatment. Dispatchers may have limited English, so knowing basic Japanese emergency phrases or having a translation app ready is strongly recommended when calling for help.
Japan's ambulance service is operated by local fire departments (shōbōsho), and the nationwide emergency dispatch number is 119 for both ambulance and fire.
In 9 languages
| Language | Term |
|---|---|
| English | Ambulance |
| Japanese (日本語) | 救急車 |
| Chinese (中文) | 救护车 |
| Korean (한국어) | 구급차 |
| Portuguese | Ambulância |
| Spanish | Ambulancia |
| Filipino | Ambulansya |
| Thai | รถพยาบาล |
| Vietnamese | Xe cứu thương |
| Romanization | kyūkyūsha |
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Read the guide →Last reviewed: September 2026