Checked against the official pages of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, the Australian and UK governments’ consular guidance, and Houterasu (Japan Legal Support Center) on 30 August 2026. Exact visiting hours and contact points for your own embassy vary by mission, so the one thing worth confirming in advance is your own country’s consular emergency line in Japan.

Being questioned or arrested in a country where you don’t speak the language is frightening to even think about, and almost nobody plans a trip around it. The good news is that Japan’s system, while it moves slowly and can hold you far longer than travelers from many other countries expect, also gives every detainee a specific set of rights that are free, real, and simple to invoke — if you know to ask for them. This article lays out what actually happens, based on official bar association and embassy sources, not forum anecdotes.

The timeline runs longer than most travelers assume

Under Japanese criminal procedure, police can detain a suspect for an initial period, after which a prosecutor can request extensions from a court. The Australian Embassy in Tokyo’s own guidance for its citizens states plainly that “persons suspected of a crime can be detained for 23 days without charge,” adding that “experience to date is that they will be detained for the maximum period.” That 23-day figure — not 23 hours, not 2 or 3 days — is the single most important number to understand going in, because it shapes every other decision below. It is also why acting on your rights immediately, rather than waiting to see what happens, matters more in Japan than it might elsewhere.

Say these exact words: “Please call the duty attorney”

The single most useful thing you can do at the police station is ask for the toban bengoshi — the duty attorney. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA), the body that runs this system nationwide, states the request in exactly these terms on its own English-language page: “Please call the duty attorney (toban bengoshi).” Once you say this, the police or the court contacts the nearest local bar association, and — in JFBA’s words — “a lawyer will come to see you very soon.”

This first visit is free. JFBA is explicit about it: “The first time a duty attorney is called, there is no charge at all.” The lawyer meets you privately — the same source notes the attorney “interviews you at a police holding cell without the presence of police officers” — explains your rights and what happens next, and can contact your family on your behalf. This is not legal advice you have to track down yourself; it is a nationwide system built specifically so that anyone, arrested anywhere in Japan, can reach a lawyer within hours rather than weeks.

Consular notification is your right, but you have to ask for it

Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, a foreign national who is arrested or detained can have their consulate notified and can communicate with consular officials. In practice, this doesn’t happen automatically the moment you’re taken in — you need to state clearly, to the police, that you want your embassy or consulate notified.

Once notified, don’t expect an immediate visit. The Australian Embassy’s guidance is direct on this point: it “will visit as soon as possible after notification of detention,” but “Japanese police do not allow consular officers to visit outside of normal public visiting hours. Visits are not permitted on public holidays or weekends.” The UK government’s own consular guidance describes a similar, discretionary role — officials can visit or contact you, inform your family with your consent, and raise concerns about mistreatment with local authorities, but note there is no unconditional legal entitlement to a specific level of service. What this means practically: ask for consular notification the moment you’re able to, since the clock on a visit only starts once that request has been made and processed — and a weekend arrest can mean an extra day or two of waiting either way.

Free multilingual legal information exists even before you have a lawyer

Separate from the duty attorney system, Houterasu (the Japan Legal Support Center) runs a Multilingual Information Service at 0570-078377 (or 050-3754-5430 from IP or prepaid phones), available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. It works as a three-way call: you speak with Houterasu staff and an interpreter at the same time, at no cost beyond the call itself. It’s designed to point you toward the right organization for your situation — including, per JFBA’s own referral note, connecting people to “the consultation service that it considers most appropriate.” It won’t replace the duty attorney for an active arrest, but it’s a legitimate, free channel for understanding the Japanese legal system in your own language, and it’s available before, during, or independent of any criminal matter.

What this is not

None of this makes an arrest something to shrug off, and none of these rights arrive automatically just because you’re a foreign national — every one of them (the duty attorney, consular notification, the Houterasu line) requires you or someone acting for you to actively request it. Nor is any of this a substitute for your own embassy’s specific guidance for your nationality, which can differ in detail (some embassies keep a list of English-speaking local attorneys, for instance, and visiting hours and procedures vary by consulate).

What to actually do if this happens to you

State clearly and early that you want your embassy or consulate notified. Say the specific phrase — “please call the duty attorney” — rather than waiting to be offered a lawyer. If you can get a message to family or friends outside, do so, since the duty attorney can also do this on your behalf but a second channel doesn’t hurt. And once you have any point of contact with the outside world, your own embassy’s Japan page is the most reliable next step for anything specific to your nationality.

How Travel AI Rescue helps

Travel AI Rescue keeps your embassy’s Japan contact number, alongside the local police and emergency numbers, one tap away with the country code already attached — useful the moment you’re able to make a call and don’t want to be searching for a number under pressure. It can display a Japanese-language card stating your situation in plain terms, so officers who don’t share a language with you can understand you immediately. And it drafts a clear, timestamped written summary of what happened and when, from your own account — the kind of record that helps once you’re speaking with a duty attorney or your consulate. Passport and ID details stored on the device stay readable with no signal at all, and offline diagnosis is built in for when the eSIM itself won’t connect. It works differently from a staffed hotline or legal representation, and it’s with you around the clock. (The duty attorney system, consular notification, and any legal proceeding remain matters for the Japanese police, courts, and your own embassy.)

Sources

• Australian Embassy Tokyo, “Arrests.” https://japan.embassy.gov.au/tkyo/arrests.html (accessed 2026-08-30).
• Japan Federation of Bar Associations, “If You are Arrested! - About Duty Attorney System.” https://www.nichibenren.or.jp/en/legalinfo/arrest.html (accessed 2026-08-30).
• Japan Federation of Bar Associations, “Legal Counseling for Foreigners.” https://www.nichibenren.or.jp/en/legalinfo/counceling.html (accessed 2026-08-30).
• Houterasu (Japan Legal Support Center), “Multilingual Information Service.” https://www.houterasu.or.jp/site/english/multilingualinformationservice.html (accessed 2026-08-30).
• UK Government, “Consular assistance: how the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office provides support.” https://www.gov.uk/guidance/consular-assistance-how-the-foreign-commonwealth-development-office-provides-support (accessed 2026-08-30).