Children's Medical Telephone Consultation (#8000): phone number and hours

• Numbers and hours by prefecture

  Besides #8000, each prefecture has a regular number (also usable from mobile phones and pulse-dial lines). These are listed, along with hours on weekdays, Saturdays and holidays, in the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "Implementation status of the Children's Medical Telephone Consultation program."

• When you dial #8000, you are automatically transferred to the helpline of the prefecture where you live. It is a nationwide short-code number available in all 47 prefectures.
• Pediatricians and nurses give advice suited to your child's symptoms, such as "go to a hospital right away" or "you can watch and wait," on what to do and which hospital to visit.
• You can use it when you are unsure about a child's symptoms on holidays or at night, for example if the child hit their head, has a fever, vomits repeatedly, or may have licked tobacco.
• In all 47 prefectures you can use #8000 from mobile phones, and calls are accepted after midnight (0:00) as well. Hours differ by prefecture, and some prefectures are open 24 hours, 365 days.
• Each prefecture's regular number can also be used from mobile phones and pulse-dial lines.

• Hours differ by prefecture. Check the hours for your prefecture in the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's list before calling.
• From pulse-dial lines, you can call your prefecture's regular number (in the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's list).

Your municipality (city, ward, town or village) also has counters for welfare, health and child-rearing concerns. Call the main number, explain what you want to discuss, and ask for the counter in charge.