National Mar 13, 2017
App developed to help judge whether calling an ambulance is really necessary
by Magdalena Osumi
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency comes up with a new way to cut down on unneeded ambulance runs.
National Jan 5, 2017
Agency seeks to deter nonemergency 119 calls
by Shusuke Murai
Some callers just want a ride. Others are lonely and simply want to chat. The problem? They've called 119. Amid efforts to deter nonessential use of ambulances, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency will begin to look at the issue in depth with a guideline ...
National Dec 22, 2015
Ambulance response times fall to Japan's worst ever
The average time taken to transport a patient to a hospital by ambulance following an emergency call was 39 minutes and 24 seconds in 2014, the worst on record, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday. The time was six seconds longer than the ...
Business Nov 30, 2015
Air ambulance dispatch trial using accident data begins in Japan
A test service was launched Monday to dispatch ambulance helicopters to the scene of car accidents after analyzing data sent automatically from the vehicles, operators said. Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. are teaming up with a nonprofit organization to test the feasibility of ...
National Jul 13, 2015
Parked ambulance starts rolling, injures man
A parked ambulance rolled forward and rear-ended a station wagon in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, injuring a 28-year-old man. The wagon, with nine people inside — including five children aged 7 or younger — was parked 10 meters from the ambulance. The injured man was the ...
National / Crime & Legal Nov 14, 2014
Saitama man arrested over false Ebola claim
Saitama Prefectural Police said Thursday they have arrested a 24-year-old man for calling an ambulance and making a false statement indicating he might be infected with the Ebola virus. Haruki Shimizu of Moroyama, Saitama Prefecture, is charged for fraudulent obstruction of business, as the phone ...
National Oct 17, 2013
Emergency service hops language barrier
by Tomohiro Osaki
An emergency call for an ambulance could easily result in an unnecessary tragedy if the caller doesn't speak Japanese fluently. It's a possibility the city of Kyoto has faced many times, officials there said. "In the past, we have experienced great difficulty pinpointing the location of ...