Afghan Mothers in Chiba Learn Japanese to Reconnect With Their Children

A Saturday Classroom With Family Life at Its Heart

More than 120 students have registered at a free Japanese language school that Sedeka Eto opened in Chiba Prefecture in 2023. Its purpose reaches beyond learning words and grammar: it helps Afghan mothers communicate with children who are growing up speaking Japanese, while giving the women a place to study, meet others and discuss their concerns.

Chiba, just outside Tokyo, is home to approximately 40 percent of Japan's 6,000 Afghan residents. For women in this community, limited Japanese can make everyday life difficult and leave them isolated within their own families. Their children learn the language at school, while mothers with fewer opportunities to study struggle to follow conversations or participate in their children's education.

Eto, a longtime Afghan resident of Japan and a legal interpreter for nearly four decades, established the school through the nonprofit Eagle Afghan for the Reconstruction of Afghanistan. Classes take place every Saturday, with Japanese volunteers providing childcare so that mothers can concentrate on learning.

The classroom also gives women a regular opportunity to leave their household responsibilities, spend time with peers and consider further education or employment. Some attend despite opposition from their husbands. Others bring their children with them. For these mothers, studying Japanese is closely connected to their place in both family and community life.

Why Mothers and Children Can Lose a Shared Language

Afghan children encounter Japanese throughout their school day and can become fluent quickly. Their mothers, particularly those who do not work outside the home, may have much less contact with the language. Over time, children can also lose their command of the language spoken by their parents.

Eto describes the change she has seen between generations:

Children learn to speak Japanese at school, but mothers remain unable to understand it. Children then forget the Afghan language.

Communication can narrow to simple Japanese phrases. A mother may be able to manage a brief exchange but struggle to discuss something complicated, such as a problem at school or a child's emotional difficulties. The loss of a shared language can leave both sides with fewer ways to explain what they need.

One mother describes being unable to follow conversations between her children:

My children speak to each other in Japanese, making it impossible for me to understand them.

Children often become bridges between their families and Japanese society. Yet their rapid adaptation can also create tension when parents cannot keep pace. Adult language education gives mothers a way to take a more direct part in those conversations and maintain close relationships as their children grow.

How Chiba Became an Afghan Community Centre

Chiba has one of Japan's largest Afghan communities. Many Afghans arrived as refugees following the Taliban's return to power in 2021, escaping violence and the loss of basic rights, particularly for women and girls. Other families have lived in Japan for decades.

Yotsukaido, a city in Chiba Prefecture, has seen its Afghan community grow since the 1980s. Opportunities in the used car export business initially drew people there. The city is now home to 1,200 Afghans, who account for about 30 percent of its residents who are not Japanese.

The concentration has practical and social benefits. Families can live near people who share their language and experiences. Restaurants such as Arian offer familiar food and places where community members can feel a sense of belonging.

Academic studies describe Afghan communities in Japan clustering in particular neighbourhoods, often near automobile dismantlers and exporters. Living near work and fellow Afghans can strengthen solidarity. It can also limit contact with wider Japanese society, reducing opportunities for adults to practise Japanese.

Women who spend much of their time at home can face particular difficulties. A small, closely connected community, limited institutional support and cultural expectations restricting women's movement or independence can combine to make language learning harder to access.

What Led Eto to Open the School?

Sedeka Eto arrived in Japan from Afghanistan in 1983 and married a Japanese man. Her work as a legal interpreter brought her into contact with families experiencing the consequences of language barriers and cultural isolation.

Eto recalls one concern that drew her attention:

I became aware of an increase in shoplifting and other crimes committed by foreign youth.

She saw families in which parents and children struggled to communicate and relationships deteriorated, sometimes alongside juvenile delinquency or violence at home. Helping mothers and children understand each other became central to her response.

Eto founded Eagle Afghan for the Reconstruction of Afghanistan and opened the free school in 2023. Its Saturday classes now bring together more than 120 registered students. For many women, the sessions are a highlight of the week and a rare chance to share worries with people facing similar circumstances.

The community's development and the school's beginnings span several decades:

• 1983: Eto moved from Afghanistan to Japan.
• From the 1980s: Yotsukaido's Afghan community grew, initially attracted by work in used car exports.
• 2021: The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, followed by the arrival of many Afghan refugees in Japan.
• December 2022: A woman who later joined Eto's classes arrived in Japan after fleeing deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan.
• 2023: Eto opened the free Japanese language school for Afghan women.

Finding a Way to Attend

Saturday classes are free, but getting to them is not always straightforward. Traditional Afghan customs often prohibit women from going out alone, and some husbands oppose their wives' participation. Mothers must also manage childcare and housework.

Japanese volunteers help care for children during lessons. Some students bring their children, allowing them to attend without having to arrange care elsewhere. The support makes study possible for women whose family responsibilities might otherwise keep them at home.

Eto describes the students' determination:

Despite their husbands' opposition, the women earnestly study Japanese, stopping what they are doing to focus on their work, even while looking after their children.

The weekly gathering provides more than instruction. Women can socialise, discuss difficulties and spend time with others who understand the strain of settling into a country whose language they do not yet speak. A routine built around study gives them something of their own to look forward to.

One woman explains what Saturdays have come to mean to her:

I can't wait for Saturdays to come.

A Student Describes Moving Beyond Isolation

A student aged 45 arrived in Japan in December 2022 after fleeing worsening conditions in Afghanistan. Unable to speak Japanese, she found her early life in the country deeply distressing.

She describes that period in stark terms:

I felt like I was dead inside because I couldn't speak Japanese.

Her husband suggested that she use her smartphone to study. Learning in a classroom, with a teacher and a blackboard, gave her a different experience. The opportunity to learn alongside others helped change how she felt about daily life.

The student describes the effect of attending lessons:

The experience made me happy and improved my mental state.

Many women attending the school had to abandon their own education in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has barred girls from attending school beyond a certain age. Returning to study as adults gives them an opportunity to pursue an interest that circumstances had interrupted.

Another student expresses her appreciation for that opportunity:

Studying is my favorite thing, and I am grateful to my teachers.

Japanese Lessons Open Up Daily Life

Students describe becoming more confident in situations outside the classroom, including riding public transportation and speaking with teachers at their children's schools. These are everyday tasks, but the ability to handle them directly can change how independently a mother manages family life.

Conversations with teachers are especially relevant to the school's purpose. A mother who can ask questions and understand an answer has more opportunity to participate in her child's education and discuss concerns that may be difficult to express with only a few phrases.

Some students also want to continue their education or find work outside the home. Eto says those ambitions are becoming more common:

Instead of being financially dependent on their husbands, more and more women have expressed a desire to study further and work outside the home.

Language learning connects those ambitions with practical needs. The same skills that help a woman travel independently or speak at school can also help her consider a course of study or employment. For mothers who have depended on others to communicate, learning Japanese offers greater control over daily decisions.

Other Local Teachers Support Afghan Families

The Cross-Cultural Association in Yotsukaido also offers Japanese classes, including sessions for women only that accommodate religious and cultural needs. Such arrangements help make lessons accessible to residents who might find other settings difficult to attend.

Atsuko Himeno, a teacher affectionately called "sensei", supports learners with more than language instruction. Her assistance extends to navigating hospitals, schools and other parts of life in Japan.

Himeno explains her motivation:

Helping people is my motivation.

She also describes the kind of life she wants learners to have:

I want them to live without anxieties in Japan, as they already went through tough times in their homelands.

The work of local teachers addresses a gap that community ties alone cannot always fill. Familiar food, neighbours and shared language can make a new home feel less lonely, while Japanese lessons help residents engage with the institutions they need to use. Both forms of support matter to families adapting to life in Chiba.

Study Pathways and Uncertainty About the Future

Afghan learners also have opportunities beyond local community classes. The Japan-Afghanistan Japanese Language School Pathways program, known as JALP, offers Afghan youth the chance to attend private Japanese language schools across Japan.

Modelled on similar programs for Syrian students, JALP provides tuition, airfare and support services. It helps participants prepare for university or employment, giving young Afghans another route towards rebuilding their lives and contributing to their communities.

Language education operates alongside wider difficulties facing Afghan evacuees. Japan's refugee recognition rate is among the lowest in the developed world, and many evacuees face uncertainty over their legal status, employment and prospects for a lasting future in the country.

Academic research highlights the need for more coherent and humane refugee policies and greater support for integration, particularly for women and families. A language class can help with communication and confidence, while questions about residence and employment continue to shape the choices families can make.

Afghan Ambitions Beyond the Classroom

Zakia Khudadadi's sporting journey offers another example of Afghan women's determination. Following a secret evacuation from Kabul, she became the first Afghan woman to compete in the Paralympic Games. Her journey took her to Chiba, where she competed in taekwondo.

Young Afghans such as Mahdi Mirzad, who is pursuing a boxing career in Japan, also reflect the community's varied ambitions. Their goals extend across education, work and sport, even as families contend with the demands of adapting to a new country.

For the women attending Eto's school, progress often takes a quieter form: understanding a conversation between their children, speaking to a teacher or deciding to pursue further study. Japanese lessons give them more ways to express themselves and participate in the society around them while maintaining relationships within their families.

The Saturday classroom brings those aims together. Mothers who once had few opportunities to learn can study with teachers, find companionship and work towards greater independence. At the centre of the effort is a practical family need: keeping parents and children able to talk to one another.

Key Points

• Sedeka Eto opened a free Japanese language school for Afghan women in Chiba in 2023, with more than 120 students now registered.
• Saturday classes address a growing communication gap between mothers and children who learn Japanese at school.
• Chiba is home to approximately 40 percent of Japan's 6,000 Afghan residents. Yotsukaido has 1,200 Afghan residents.
• Japanese volunteers provide childcare, while some women attend despite opposition from their husbands.
• Students describe improved confidence, better emotional wellbeing and ambitions to continue studying or work outside the home.
• Local language classes and the JALP program support Afghan learners, while many evacuees continue to face uncertainty over legal status and employment.