One caller whined about a bug in their ear, while another wanted to know how to turn on a stove. A third complained about a noisy neighbor.
These calls were made to Japan's 119 emergency services — despite there being no medical emergency. The proliferation of such cases and related requests for ambulances have been giving local municipalities a headache.
But with more life-threatening cases such as heatstroke among the elderly being predicted, local governments are taking a tougher stance against nonemergency callers.