Crisis Resources in Japan
Crisis resources Japan centers on three telephone lines plus emergency escalation: TELL Lifeline in English, Yorisoi Hotline in Japanese with foreign-language routing, and the Japanese-language Inochi-no-Denwa network.123 You do not need to be suicidal to call any of them; distress alone is reason enough to reach out.123
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the TELL Japan site, the Yorisoi Hotline site, the Inochi-no-Denwa federation site, and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare portal. This article is general information, not medical advice; for your specific situation, consult a licensed physician or licensed mental-health professional.
Overview
Japan's crisis lines divide by language and structure rather than by topic. TELL serves English speakers nationwide by phone and chat, Yorisoi serves anyone nationwide with topic-based routing including foreign languages, and Inochi-no-Denwa serves Japanese speakers through 53 regional centers.123
Hours and language coverage vary by line and by day, while 110 for police and 119 for ambulance are uniform nationwide for immediate physical danger.423 This guide lists each line's numbers, hours, and routing, then covers escalation and supporter steps. Consultation itself is free on all three lines; callers bear only the call charges stated for specific dialects.123
The following chart shows how to pick the first call:
TELL Lifeline: English-language line
TELL Lifeline is the English-language crisis line for people living in Japan, operated by TELL Japan with trained volunteer support workers.1 It covers any concern, from suicidal thoughts to everyday distress, and also connects callers to community services.1
Hours, numbers, and chat access
TELL publishes two phone numbers: 0800-300-8355 toll-free and 03-5774-0992 (as of 2026-09-07; confirm current figures with TELL Japan).15 Overall phone availability runs Saturday 09:00 to Monday 23:00 continuously, Tuesday to Thursday 09:00 to 23:00, and Friday 09:00 to 02:00 (as of 2026-09-07).15
| Day | Phone window | Chat window | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 05:30 to 23:00 | 16:00 to 23:00 | 2026-09-075 |
| Tuesday to Thursday | 09:00 to 16:00 and 19:30 to 23:00 | 16:00 to 23:00 | 2026-09-075 |
| Friday | 09:00 to 16:00 and 19:30 to 23:00 | 16:00 to 02:00 | 2026-09-075 |
| Saturday | 09:00 to 23:00 | 16:00 to 05:30 | 2026-09-075 |
| Sunday | 05:30 to 23:00 | 16:00 to 05:30 | 2026-09-075 |
The table above reflects the day-split schedule TELL publishes; check the weekly hours page before calling because the simplified "9am to 11pm daily" summary misses the weekday afternoon phone gap (as of 2026-09-07).5 Chat runs every day from 16:00 with day-specific closing times (as of 2026-09-07).5 Service is English only and limited to people located in Japan, with a minimum chat age of 13 (as of 2026-09-07).16
Phone and chat windows split by day, so the hours page confirms which channel is open right now before you dial or open chat.5
What happens when you contact TELL
A support worker listens and helps you talk through concerns, focusing on thoughts and feelings rather than demanding details.1 Workers do not make decisions for you, do not impose personal beliefs, and discuss options and next steps sensitively.1
You will generally reach a different worker each time, assigned by first availability so help arrives quickly.1 One question you will hear is whether you feel suicidal; it is asked to give space for those feelings, not as a condition for help.1 Calls are confidential and your number is not shown to the volunteer, and no name or personal details are required.1 Chat transcripts are recorded in de-identified form for internal and clinical purposes only.1
TELL cannot contact emergency services on your behalf.4 If you need police or ambulance intervention, you or someone near the person must dial directly.
Yorisoi Hotline: nationwide multilingual routing
The よりそいホットライン (yorisoi hotto rain, "Yorisoi Hotline") is a nationwide consultation service operated by the Social Inclusion Support Center as a subsidized project of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.27 It serves anyone with any worry, not only suicidal distress.2
Hours, numbers, and language routing
The toll-free numbers are 0120-279-338 nationwide and 0120-279-226 for callers in Fukushima (as of 2026-09-07; confirm current figures with the Social Inclusion Support Center).27 For foreign-language service, callers press 2 after the initial guidance (as of 2026-09-07).2
Listed foreign languages are English, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, Vietnamese, Nepali, and Indonesian, with actual availability varying by time (as of 2026-09-07).2 The English Yorisoi page states telephone consultation runs every day between 10:00 and 22:00 (as of 2026-09-07).2 The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare portal separately describes 24-hour response with guidance-based specialist routing including foreign languages, plus 050-3655-0279 for IP phones (as of 2026-09-07).8
| Channel | Number | Hours note | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yorisoi toll-free nationwide | 0120-279-338 | See hours note below | 2026-09-072 |
| Yorisoi Fukushima line | 0120-279-226 | Fukushima callers | 2026-09-077 |
| Yorisoi IP-phone line | 050-3655-0279 | Via MHLW portal | 2026-09-078 |
| Yorisoi fax | 0120-773-776 (Fukushima 0120-375-727) | For callers with hearing difficulty | 2026-09-077 |
Treat the two hours statements as parallel sources: the government portal describes 24-hour routing while the English service page lists a 10:00 to 22:00 window, so confirm the current schedule on the official pages before relying on either (as of 2026-09-07).28 Privacy is protected on all channels.2
Beyond phone, Yorisoi accepts Facebook Messenger and a secure chat and form channel, which helps when voice calls are difficult or when a listed language is not staffed at that hour.27
The opening guidance is in Japanese, then pressing 2 connects to foreign-language consultation; available languages vary by time so listen to the full prompt.2
What Yorisoi covers beyond crisis calls
Yorisoi handles daily-life trouble alongside crisis support, including family, work, visa and nationality, discrimination, domestic violence, confinement, and human trafficking.2 The voice guidance routes by topic: daily-life worries, foreign-language consultation, DV and sexual violence, sexual orientation and gender identity, acute suicidal distress, disaster-affected callers, young women's consultation, and child-rearing.7
That breadth distinguishes Yorisoi from single-issue lines. A caller unsure where a problem belongs can start on the general daily-life route and be directed from there.7
Inochi-no-Denwa: Japanese-language regional network
The いのちの電話 (inochi no denwa, "telephone of life") is Japan's federated suicide-prevention telephone network, with 53 regional centers across the country.3 Counselors are trained volunteers, names are not required, content stays confidential, and consultation is free apart from stated call charges.3
How the federated network works
There is no single national timetable for the regional lines. Each center sets its own number and reception hours, so the federation directory is the lookup step.3
Two shared dialects sit above the regional lines. Free dial 0120-783-556 runs daily 16:00 to 21:00 and for 24 hours from 08:00 on the 10th of each month to 08:00 on the 11th (as of 2026-09-07; confirm current figures with the Inochi-no-Denwa federation).3 Navi dial 0570-783-556 runs 10:00 to 22:00 year-round with carrier-set charges that flat-rate plans do not cover (as of 2026-09-07).3
| Dialect | Number | Window | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free dial | 0120-783-556 | Daily 16:00 to 21:00; monthly 10th 08:00 to 11th 08:00 | 2026-09-073 |
| Navi dial | 0570-783-556 | 10:00 to 22:00 year-round, call charges apply | 2026-09-073 |
Internet consultation by email is also offered for people who find phone calls difficult.3 The federation periodically runs extended free-dial campaigns around suicide-prevention dates, announced as news items; a 7-day campaign was announced on 2026-08-11 (as of 2026-08-11).3
Finding your regional center
Use the federation's national center list to find the number and hours for the center you intend to call.3 You may call a center outside your home region.3 Because regional schedules differ, calling the wrong center's remembered hours wastes time in a crisis; check the directory entry each time.3
When to call 110 or 119 instead
Crisis lines listen and refer. When someone has already acted to end their life, cannot stay safe, or faces immediate physical danger, call emergency services directly.14
Which number for which situation
Call 110 for the 警察 (keisatsu, "police") and 119 for 救急 (kyukyu, "ambulance and emergency medical response; 119 also dispatches fire").4 TELL gives the same routing to both callers in danger and supporters worried about someone else.14 Unlike crisis-line hours, 110 and 119 routing is uniform nationwide.4
Crisis lines cannot dispatch help themselves, so do not wait on a chat queue when someone may act now; dial 110 or 119 and stay on the line.4
What to say and what happens next
Emergency services need three facts to act: the person's name, phone number, and address.4 Have them ready before dialing if possible. TELL states it cannot place the emergency call on your behalf, so the supporter or someone near the person must call.4
Callers located outside Japan who fear someone in Japan is in immediate danger can call 03-3501-0110 on weekdays 08:30 to 17:15 Japan time (as of 2026-09-07; confirm current figures with TELL Japan).14 Outside those hours, call the police station near the person's address and ask for "tsuyaku" (translation) if you cannot speak Japanese (as of 2026-09-07).14
Cultural and public-health context
Japan treats suicide as a multifactorial public-health issue, not a private failing. The Basic Act on Suicide Countermeasures of 2006 requires annual government reporting to the Diet, published as the White Paper on Suicide Countermeasures.9 Funded telephone and SNS consultation services sit inside that framework alongside gatekeeper training and support search sites.98
Annual suicides exceeded 30,000 for over a decade after the 1998 surge, then declined through the 2010s while remaining above 19,000 per year.9 The finalized 2024 total was 20,320, down 1,517 from the prior year and the second-lowest since records began (as of the 2025 White Paper summary; confirm current figures with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare).9 An earlier provisional total of 20,268 was superseded by that finalized figure.109
One trend diverges from the overall decline. Suicides among elementary, junior-high, and high-school students reached 529 in 2024, the highest since records began in 1980, with the teen rate trending upward since 2017 (as of the 2025 White Paper summary).9 The White Paper's 2024 focus chapter analyzes callers aged 29 and under alongside telephone and social-media consultation use.9
Supporting someone in crisis as a resident
Supporters include friends, family, and coworkers, not only professionals. Preparation before a crisis matters more than improvisation during one.48
Keep numbers visible and reachable
Save the crisis numbers in your phone and keep them visible at home or at work. TELL advises supporters to trust their instincts when mood or behavior changes, reach out directly, and listen without judgment or quick solutions.4
Give the person time and space to describe what they face. Ask how they feel, state what you noticed gently, and encourage professional support rather than trying to resolve the cause yourself.4 Offer to help build a safety plan together, encourage keeping treatment appointments, and encourage seeking different treatment if nothing improves.4 The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare portal frames the same gatekeeper sequence as noticing, listening, and connecting to services.8
Know the involuntary-hospitalization procedure at a high level
Japan's Act on Mental Health and Welfare provides for involuntary hospitalization by prefectural-governor order after examination by designated physicians finds a mental disorder with a risk of self-harm or harm to others unless hospitalized.11 Police officers who encounter such a person report to the prefectural governor through the nearest public-health center, and a designated-physician examination follows before any order.11
Operational details vary by prefecture and municipality, including which health center receives the report and how nights and holidays are covered.11 Confirm the local public-health-center route in advance rather than assuming one national procedure.11 This description covers the access path only and is not legal advice on whether hospitalization applies in any individual case.11
Night and holiday response differs by locality, so look up your health center's contact before you need it rather than during an emergency.11
Good to know
TELL hours change by day so check before calling
TELL phone and chat hours differ by weekday and by platform, with weekday afternoon phone gaps when only chat is open.5 The weekly hours table on the TELL site is the authoritative check. Calling from a remembered "9am to 11pm" summary risks hitting a closed phone window (as of 2026-09-07).5
Yorisoi foreign-language support runs in limited hours
Yorisoi lists 11 foreign languages but states availability varies by time.2 Listen to the full Japanese guidance and press 2 for foreign-language routing. If your language is not staffed at that hour, the Facebook Messenger or secure chat channel is the fallback.2
Inochi-no-Denwa has no single national timetable
Regional centers set their own numbers and hours, while only the shared free and navi dials have fixed windows.3 Always check the federation directory entry for the center you intend to call. A schedule remembered from another region does not transfer.3
Free lines still incur call charges on some dialects
Free consultation does not always mean a free call. Inochi-no-Denwa navi-dial calls incur carrier-set charges excluded from flat-rate plans, and IP-phone callers need alternate numbers such as 03-6634-7830 for Inochi-no-Denwa or 050-3655-0279 for Yorisoi (as of 2026-09-07).38 Check the charge note beside the number before dialing.
Language routing selections change so listen to the full prompt
Yorisoi updated its voice guidance on 2026-04-01, and selections remain subject to change (as of 2026-04-01).7 Pressing a remembered number from an old guide may route to the wrong topic line. The guidance heard on the current call takes precedence.7
This article describes systems and access paths only. It gives no medical advice; for any health concern, consult a licensed physician or an appropriate medical institution.
See also
- Psychiatry, Psychology, and Counseling in Japan
- Workplace Mental Health Framework
- Mental-Health Disclosure and the Visa-Renewal Question
- Finding an English-Speaking Provider
- Resilience and Recourse Strategies