Understanding your ambulance

Photo: Ishizuka Yoshinori 石塚善規

In my Nov. 20 column in The Japan Times, I addressed what the heck Japanese ambulance crews are saying over their public-address system when they’re trying to make their way through traffic.　Here’s a video to give you an idea what a Japanese ambulance looks and sounds like when it’s on a emergency run:

The crew member on the mike (the male voice) seems to be saying Tomatte o-machi kudasai 止まってお待ち下さい (“Please stop and wait.”) while the automatic announcement (the female voice) is saying Migi e magarimasu. Go-chūi kudasai. 右へ曲がります。ご注意ください。 (“Turning right. Please watch out.”)

It can be really difficult–even for native speakers–to understand Japanese ambulances, so as a public service I’m providing examples of commonly used phrases:

Aka shingō o tsūka shimasu 赤信号を通過します。 (“We’re going through the red light.”)

Hantai shasen o tsūka shimasu 反対車線を通行します。 (“We’re passing through the lane for traffic going in the opposite direction.”)

Kinkyū sharyō ga sekkin shimasunode yukkuri to migi e yotte kudasai. 緊急車両が接近しますので、ゆっくりと左へ寄ってください。 (“An emergency vehicle is approaching, so please make your way carefully to the left.”)

Kōsaten ni ｓhinyū shimasu. 交差点に進入します。 (“We’re entering the intersection.”)

Hokōsha no kata, sukoshi o-machi kudasai. 歩行者の方、少しお待ちください。 (“Pedestrians, please wait.”)

I hope that last line is what the crew was saying when this next video was filmed. It’s the one I promised in my column I’d post, for its shocking footage of pedestrians refusing to stop for an ambulance.

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