KYOTO — Perhaps the greatest concern of any international tourist, exchange student or even long-term expatriate is what happens if there is a medical emergency and a language barrier with the professionals who must deal with it?
A visit to a hospital or clinic where a patient is unable to communicate the problem can be frustrating, even frightening.
To overcome the communication barrier, a multilingual medical service was established last month by a Kyoto human rights group that allows anyone, at the touch of a few buttons, to explain what's wrong with them in one of five languages, and get a printout with their symptoms translated into Japanese that can be presented to a Japanese nurse or doctor.