Some foreign tourists may be at a loss as to what to do when they suffer an injury or illness while traveling in Okinawa. Some may give up on seeking medical care because they cannot obtain information on medical institutions or because of the high cost of such services.
Contents
In case of sudden illness or injury
If you suffer a sudden illness or injury while traveling in Okinawa, you may be wondering whether you should go to a hospital or not, or you may not know which hospital to go to. For such situations, Okinawa Prefecture has established a multilingual call center for inbound medical services. This call center accepts telephone inquiries about illnesses and injuries, and provides information on symptoms, necessary advice, and medical institutions that provide services in foreign languages.Find a foreign language hospital
To find a foreign language hospital, you can contact the aforementioned multilingual inbound medical call center for information, or you can search for medical institutions on the websites of the International Exchange Division of the Okinawa International Exchange and Human Resources Development Foundation or the Japan National Tourism Organization ( JNTO ). You can narrow down the list of hospitals that provide foreign language services by area and medical specialty. Please note that not all medical institutions are able to provide services in foreign languages at all times. Please call each medical institution in advance to confirm the availability of foreign-language services.
Find out about emergency hospitals
Okinawa Prefecture provides various types of support for medical institutions, such as "Telephone and Video Medical Interpretation Service," which provides interpretation by telephone or video terminal when foreign tourists visit the hospital, and "Simple Translation Service for Medical Institutions," which translates medical questionnaires and medical certificate guides necessary for dealing with foreign tourists.Foreign tourists can therefore visit medical institutions in Okinawa Prefecture with peace of mind. If you have a serious injury or sudden illness and do not have time to check or choose a hospital, you can call 119 for an ambulance or go to a nearby emergency hospital without hesitation because of the support of Okinawa Prefecture's interpreters and other services.
