Yorisoi Hotline: phone number and hours

The Yorisoi Hotline, run by the Social Inclusion Support Center, is a helpline anyone can use for any worry. When you call, a voice menu plays; choose a number and you are connected to a trained counselor. Any kind of worry is welcome, you can call from anywhere in Japan, and your conversation is confidential.

• Fax counseling

  0120-773-776

  Fax counseling for people who find it hard to talk or listen on the phone. From Fukushima Prefecture: 0120-375-727

• moyatter

  A text counseling service: post whatever is weighing on your mind, and a trained counselor replies

• Chat counseling for disaster victims (information on available help)

  People affected by a disaster or evacuated after the nuclear accident can talk about their problems by chat and, when needed, be told where to get support and which programs they can use

• Trained counselors answer the phone. You can call from anywhere in Japan, and your conversation is confidential.
• When you call, a voice menu plays first; press a number to reach a counselor. Press "1" for everyday problems in general, "5" for the suicide-prevention line when you are in so much pain you want to die, and "8" for the line for people affected by disasters.
• Any worry is welcome: daily life, work, housing, money, illness, disability, family, domestic violence or sexual violence, legal or administrative procedures, and more.
• On the suicide-prevention line you do not need to give your name. Counselors help you sort out your feelings and situation and, if needed, may suggest introducing or connecting you to support organizations.
• The voice menu also offers counseling in foreign languages (English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Tagalog, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Nepali, Indonesian and others), counseling for women about domestic or sexual violence, counseling about sexual orientation and gender identity, and counseling for girls and young women in their teens and 20s.

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.