Module 13.2 Culture notes

	Emergency call to police	110	いち　いち　ゼロ
			ichi ichi zero
	Emergency call to the coast guard	118	いち　いち　はち
			ichi ichi hachi
	Fire, ambulance, emergency rescue	119	いち　いち　きゅう
			ichi ichi kyuu

In Japan, the number 4 is sometimes considered an unlucky number because the pronunciation of the number four in Japanese is “shi” which is the same sound as the word for “death”.

As a result, some people avoid using the number four in their daily lives, such as in apartment or room numbers, phone numbers, and even in hospital rooms. In some cases, buildings may not have a fourth floor or room number, and instead, the number four may be skipped entirely and replaced with the number five.

However, it’s important to note that this superstition is not universal in Japan, and many Japanese people do not give much attention to it.

In Japan, telephones have long been used for making payments through a service known as “telephone money transfer” or “denwa shiharai” in Japanese.

This service allows users to pay bills, purchase goods and services, ride public transportation, and transfer money to other people using their telephones.

Most recently, smartphone payment apps allow users to make digital payments. The most widely used payment apps include PayPay (developed by SoftBank), Line Pay (developed by the Line app), Rakuten Pay (developed by Rakuren online retailer), and Origami Pay (developed by SBI Holdings, Apply Pay and Google Pay.

Sources:7 Best Payment Apps in Japan

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