"How to send an SOS": what schools teach, and the lines a child or parent can call

Schools in Japan are asked to run, at least once a year, a lesson in how to ask for help. It is called SOSの出し方に関する教育 (SOS no dashikata ni kansuru kyōiku, education in how to send an SOS). It comes from the suicide-prevention law, and a 2018 notice from the education and health ministries asks schools to run it

各教科等の授業等の一環として，SOSの出し方に関する教育を少なくとも年1回実施するなど積極的に推進していただくようお願いします。

(as part of ordinary lessons, at least once a year).

The idea is simple: a child who knows, before anything goes wrong, who to tell and how, is more likely to tell someone. This article explains what the lesson covers at each stage and lists the lines, with numbers, that the ministry itself publishes.

What the lesson teaches

The notice describes it as learning concrete, practical ways to ask someone for help when life or daily living is in crisis. It asks schools to:

• Tell children about lines such as the 24時間子供SOSダイヤル (24-hour SOS dial) and Childline.
• Teach not only how to send an SOS, but how to receive one: listening to a friend in trouble and trying to understand them (傾聴の仕方（SOSの受け止め方）).
• Fit the content to the child's stage of development.
• Consider bringing in public health nurses, social workers or local welfare volunteers, so children meet adults outside school who can help.

Tokyo's board, whose material the ministry circulated, puts the aim as two halves: the child can send an SOS to a trusted adult nearby, and the adults nearby can receive it and help. Its slogan is

身近にいる信頼できる大人に相談しよう

(talk to a trusted adult near you).

What it looks like by stage

Stage	What the curriculum or the ministry's materials cover
小5	保健 (health) lesson on the mind: worry can be handled by talking to an adult or a friend, playing with friends, or exercise
小6	Tokyo's booklet for this year: 「もやもやしたら…相談してみようよ！」 (if something feels wrong, try talking to someone)
中1	Health lesson on mind and body and dealing with stress; Tokyo's booklet 「一人でなやんでいるあなたへ　SOSを出していいんだよ！」 (to you who worry alone: it is all right to send an SOS)
小1 to 高3	Tokyo public schools: a DVD lesson in three versions (elementary, junior high, high school), at least one lesson in some grade at each school, plus a reminder for every child every year, for example when the list of helplines is handed out

Outside Tokyo, boards and schools choose their own material: the 2018 notice leaves materials and teaching methods to each school. Ask the school which grade has the lesson this year.

Lines a child can call, nationwide

All of these are on MEXT's page for children (子供のSOSの相談窓口).

Line	Number	When	What it is
24時間子供SOSダイヤル (MEXT)	0120-0-78310	24 hours	Bullying, going to school, friends; the page says not to give up if it does not connect at first
チャイルドライン (Childline)	0120-99-7777	Daily 16:00–21:00	Free line for children up to 18; chat as well
こどもの人権110番 (Ministry of Justice)	0120-007-110	Weekdays 8:30–17:15	Answered by legal-affairs staff or human-rights volunteers; free and confidential; adults may call about a child; email, LINE and letters too
189 (児童相談所虐待対応ダイヤル)	189	24 hours, every day	The child guidance centre line for abuse
いのちの電話	0120-783-556	Daily 16:00–21:00; from 8:00 on the 10th to 8:00 on the 11th of each month	For anyone finding it hard to go on living
あなたのいばしょ	chat at talkme.jp	24 hours	Free, anonymous chat at any age

The Ministry of Justice notes that some IP phones cannot reach its free number.

Lines in Tokyo, Kawasaki, Yokohama and Kanagawa

Area	Line	Number	When
Tokyo	教育相談一般・東京都いじめ相談ホットライン	0120-53-8288	24 hours. For children living or at school in Tokyo up to high-school age, their parents and relatives. If it does not connect from your area, call 0120-0-78310
Tokyo	相談ほっとLINE＠東京 (LINE chat, 小中高生)	via the Tokyo centre's site	15:00–23:00, last entry 22:30
Kawasaki	24時間子供SOS電話相談	044-522-3293	24 hours
Yokohama	一般教育相談	045-624-9414	Mon–Fri 9:00–17:00, not holidays
Kanagawa	総合教育相談 (prefectural centre)	0466-81-0185	Weekdays 8:45–16:45; anonymous; children about 3 to 18 and their parents. Outside these hours, use 0120-0-78310
Kanagawa	発達教育相談	0466-84-2210	Weekdays 8:45–16:45

The Tokyo centre says it is a consultation service and cannot instruct a school; for a complaint, it sends you to the school's managers and then to the board that runs the school. It keeps calls confidential unless a life or body is judged to be in danger.

What to do now

• Ask the school when this year's SOS lesson is, and which list of helplines it hands out. Keep a copy at home.
• Save 0120-0-78310 in your child's phone, and in yours.
• Say at home, more than once, which adults your child can tell: you, the 担任 (tannin, homeroom teacher), the school nurse, and a named adult outside the family.
• Practise the other half too: if a friend tells your child something serious, the lesson asks them to listen, and then tell an adult.
• For school problems the ladder inside the school comes first; see who to call when something goes wrong at school and what the school must do about bullying.