The Association of Foreign Wives of Japanese has over 600 members in Japan and abroad. The women, who come from more than 50 countries, find that AFWJ offers friendship, support and help in adapting to Japanese society.
Barbara Kuhn of Germany came to Japan 12 years ago, and married here. "I knew of the association, but I didn't join it because I was totally integrated into Japanese society," she said. "But when I became pregnant with my first child, I realized there were different things I had to find out about. So I thought, why not go to those people who already had the information about those different things I needed to know. Nine years ago I joined the group."
Barbara grew up in Hanover in northern Germany, where her father was a watchmaker. She ventured out from home when she was only 19. She said: "I thought before beginning something new after high school I would go traveling with two girls from my class. We decided to go to Israel, and after that, since my father was then in Spain, I thought I would travel around the Mediterranean." Instead, her visit to Israel extended to a two-year stay.