If this is an emergency

If the danger has passed but you are still frightened, contact one of the services below today rather than next week.

Where to start if nothing is urgent

Most families start not with a crisis but with a child who is tired, quiet or refusing to leave the house, and a parent who does not know which door to knock on. The order below works in most areas.

You do not have to decide what your child’s situation “is” before asking for help. Describing what you see is enough. For how absence is defined and recorded, see school refusal in Japan and attendance rules and costs.

Start with the school

Even if school is where the difficulty lies, it is usually the fastest way to reach other support. Japanese schools have several staff with different roles, and you can ask to speak with any of them.

Homeroom teacher (tannin / 担任)

Your main contact for day-to-day matters: reporting absences, homework, class events and how your child is recorded. If the relationship with the homeroom teacher is difficult, you can ask to speak with a grade leader (gakunen shunin / 学年主任), the vice-principal (kyoto / 教頭) or the principal (kocho / 校長). For wording you can copy, see our absence message templates.

School nurse (yogo kyoyu / 養護教諭)

The school nurse runs the health room (hokenshitsu / 保健室). Many children who cannot face the classroom spend time here first. The nurse often notices physical symptoms linked to stress and is a good person to talk to about health.

School counselor (sukuru kaunseraa / スクールカウンセラー)

A psychology professional who visits the school on set days. Counselors talk with children, parents and teachers. Parents can usually book a session on their own. Ask the homeroom teacher or the school office which days the counselor is in. Our Japanese article on using the school counselor and outpatient supportJA explains how sessions work.

School social worker (sukuru sosharu waakaa / スクールソーシャルワーカー)

A welfare professional who looks at the child’s situation as a whole, including the family and living environment. MEXT describes the role as adjusting the environment so that it can meet the child’s needs. Social workers can visit homes and connect families with welfare and other services. Not every school has one on site, so ask through the school or the board of education.

Special needs coordinator (tokubetsu shien kyoiku kodineetaa / 特別支援教育コーディネーター)

A teacher who coordinates support for children with disabilities or learning differences. If you think your child may be neurodivergent, or already has a diagnosis, this is the person to ask about adjustments. See also neurodivergent children in Japanese schools.

If the way the school itself works is still new to you, our guide to the Japanese school system explains the school year, class structure and who is responsible for what.

City and town services

Education consultation office (kyoiku sodan / 教育相談)

Most boards of education run a consultation service, sometimes called an education consultation office or education center (kyoiku sodanshitsu / 教育相談室). Parents can talk about school refusal, bullying, development or anything else, separately from the school. This is useful if you want a second opinion or find it hard to talk to the school. The name and set-up differ by city, so search your city’s website for “教育相談” or ask at the city office.

Education support center (kyoiku shien center / 教育支援センター)

A place run by the local board of education where futoko children can spend the day, study and do activities in a small group. It is usually free, and time there is commonly counted as attendance at the school where your child is enrolled. Not every area has one: in a MEXT survey published in 2019, roughly a third of municipalities had none. Read our guide to education support centers, or use our Japanese education support center finderJA.

Children and families center (kodomo katei center / こども家庭センター)

A newer municipal office that brings maternal and child health services together with child welfare services. The 2022 amendment to the Child Welfare Act (Act No. 66 of 2022) made setting one up a duty to endeavor for municipalities, so not every city has one yet. It takes consultations from expectant parents, families raising children, and children themselves. If you are unsure whether your worry is a school, health or family matter, start here.

What each public office does

Everything here is a public service. Fees are as usually set; confirm with your own municipality, because services and names differ by area.

Medical support

If your child has stomach aches, headaches, sleep problems or low mood that continue, start with a pediatrician (shonika / 小児科). They can check for a physical cause and refer you on if needed. For emotional or developmental concerns, there are child psychiatry clinics (jido seishinka / 児童精神科) and pediatric clinics that specialize in development.

Waiting lists for child psychiatry and developmental assessments are common, so book early, even while you try other support. Your school counselor or the city health center may know local clinics. If you need help with medical Japanese, see the AMDA information line below.

If the worry is your own mental health

Parents of children who are not attending school often carry this alone. The Mental Health Consultation Unified Dial (こころの健康相談統一ダイヤル, 0570-064-556) routes your call to a public consultation body in the area you call from; hours differ by prefecture and the call is charged at navi-dial rates. Every prefecture and designated city also has a mental health and welfare center (精神保健福祉センター) that takes consultations directly, and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare publishes the list.

Child guidance centers (jido sodanjo / 児童相談所)

Many parents feel nervous about child guidance centers because they are known for handling child abuse. That is one role, not the only one. They are public offices run by prefectures and some cities, and they accept consultations from families about many aspects of children’s lives. Government guidelines list school refusal among the topics covered by “upbringing consultations” (ikusei sodan / 育成相談), alongside behavior and personality.

Consulting one does not mean you are suspected of anything. It is a free option, and staff include psychologists and social workers. The Children and Families Agency lists 243 centers nationwide as of April 2026. You can find yours on its list of child guidance centers (Japanese).

There are two nationwide numbers. 189 is the abuse response dial, connecting you to the local center, toll-free since December 2019. 0120-189-783 is the consultation line for talking about a child without reporting abuse, toll-free since July 2021. Hours for the consultation line are set locally.

Parent groups and NPOs

Parent groups (oya no kai / 親の会) are meetings where parents of futoko children share experiences. Many are run by volunteers or NPOs, and some are online. Hearing from families a few steps ahead helps, even if you only listen. Most meetings are in Japanese, but some groups welcome international families, and a Japanese-speaking friend can come with you. Ask your education consultation office or a local free school whether there is a group nearby.

NPOs also run free schools and other places to learn outside school. See our guide to free schools.

Nationwide phone and chat lines

These lines were checked on their official sites in September 2026. Hours and numbers change, so check the official page before calling. Where a line is Japanese-only, we say so rather than let you find out on the call.

Several of the most useful lines are Japanese-only. If your Japanese is limited, start with the multilingual services below, or ask a Japanese-speaking friend to sit with you while you call.

Services that answer in other languages

These are public or publicly funded services with confirmed multilingual support. None is a school-refusal specialist, but they can get you into the system in a language you speak, and often arrange an interpreter for the next step.

TELL Lifeline and the AMDA medical information line, in the table above, also answer in English. Casta-net (かすたねっと) is MEXT’s search site for multilingual school documents: translated versions of the notices schools send home, in categories such as enrollment and the school system, fees and benefits, health, and school events. It is often the fastest way to understand a letter in your bag.

Who to ask about what

If the trigger is bullying, read our article on bullying in Japanese schools and what parents can do before the first meeting, because the law gives schools specific duties in that situation.

How to prepare for a consultation

Consultations are often short, perhaps 30 to 50 minutes, and the person may be meeting your family for the first time. Preparation changes how much you get out of it more than anything else.

Take notes during the meeting, including the name, job title and date. If you are told something important, ask for it in writing. Keep everything in one folder.

Getting interpretation and translated information

Language should not stop you getting help. Some practical options:

• Your local international association or multilingual consultation center. Prefectures and many cities run consultation centers for foreign residents in several languages, and some arrange interpreters for school meetings. CLAIR keeps a list of consultation centers by region, and the Immigration Services Agency runs a search by prefecture, language and contact method.
• Ask the school or board of education. Some boards of education have interpreters or staff who support foreign-connected children. It is fine to ask: 「通訳をお願いできますか」 (Tsuyaku o onegai dekimasu ka). Ask at least a week ahead where possible.
• Bring someone you trust. A Japanese-speaking friend or relative can join meetings. Tell the school in advance who is coming.
• MEXT guidebook. MEXT publishes a school enrollment guidebook for foreign families, available in English, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish and Ukrainian, explaining how Japanese schools work.
• Browser translation. Japanese pages, including city websites, can be read with a browser’s built-in translator. Check details such as dates and addresses with a person.

Asking for easy Japanese

If no interpreter is available, the next best thing is “easy Japanese” (yasashii nihongo / やさしい日本語): short sentences, no honorific-heavy phrasing, no acronyms, numbers written out. Public offices are increasingly used to the request. Say it at the start of a call: 「やさしい日本語でお願いします」 (Yasashii nihongo de onegai shimasu). It is not rude, and it makes the conversation faster.

For a wider list of places to consult, see our Japanese article on where to consult about school refusalJA.

Japanese phrases for asking for help

These are for the first minute of a call or meeting, when you most need a sentence ready. Our page of Japanese phrases and message templates for talking to school has more, including written templates.

If the consultation does not help

Sometimes the first consultation goes nowhere: the counselor is booked for two months, the teacher says to wait and see, the office says this is not their department. That is common, and does not mean you asked wrongly.

What this page does not cover

Frequently asked questions

Sources