January 18th is "118th day" after the telephone number for reporting incidents and accidents at sea.

Of the reports last year, 99% were silent calls or false calls, and the Japan Coast Guard is calling for appropriate use because it may interfere with emergency response such as marine accidents.

The telephone number 118, which reports incidents and accidents at sea to the Japan Coast Guard, began operation in 2000, and last year there were 459,097 reports nationwide.



Of these, 1% responded to the notification of the occurrence of a marine accident or the provision of information such as an unfamiliar ship, and the remaining 99% were urgent or empty reports such as silent calls and mistaken calls. is.



According to the Japan Coast Guard, even if it is a silent call, it will be necessary to call back and check it, and if there is no response to the call back, there are cases where an aircraft is dispatched to check.



It is believed that the cause is insufficient penetration of 118.



From the beginning, the operation of "NET118", which accepts reports by messages from smartphones, etc., has begun for people with disabilities such as deafness.



Hideyuki Karasawa, Chief of Public Relations Planning, Japan Coast Guard, said, "I don't think there should be any impact on emergency calls, so I would like you to raise awareness of 118 and let them know about proper use." I am.

Operation of "NET118"

From the beginning, the operation of "NET118", which accepts the 118th call by message such as a smartphone, has started for people with disabilities such as deafness.



It was developed four years ago when a boat capsizing accident involving four hearing-impaired people occurred in Aichi Prefecture, and it took a long time to report.



You can tell the situation by answering the question by pressing the report button on the website.



In December, the month after the start of operation, a pleasure boat on which a hearing-impaired person was riding in the Seto Inland Sea became stuck due to an engine failure, and five people were rescued by a report by "NET118".



Pre-registration is required for use, and the Japan Coast Guard is calling for "if you plan to go out for leisure at sea, please check how to use it in case of an accident."