An emergency call for an ambulance could easily result in an unnecessary tragedy if the caller doesn¡¯t speak Japanese fluently.

It¡¯s a possibility the city of Kyoto has faced many times, officials there said.

¡°In the past, we have experienced great difficulty pinpointing the location of foreign callers because of the language barrier,¡± said Miki Watanabe, a spokeswoman for the city¡¯s fire department, whose command center operators receive emergency calls.