The mothers holding up Japan's Vietnamese community

Japan Times

2 days ago

The sights, sounds and flavors of Vietnam are gradually becoming a part of everyday life in Japan, from the familiar aroma of pho to the cheery bustle of cultural festivals drawing thousands in major cities.
With a total population of over 630,000, Vietnamese people now make up the largest share of foreign workers in Japan. However, there is one group within this community whose everyday experiences are often overlooked: the mothers who are building their lives far from home.
On Facebook, the most popular social media platform in Vietnam, at least four grassroots groups share the name 'Vietnamese mothers in Japan,' with memberships ranging from 94,000 to 562,000 users. Members share everything from pregnancy stories and postpartum experiences to advice on baby formula, breastfeeding and the documentation needed to obtain a child's passport.
Among these Facebook groups is a smaller but influential one called the Vietnam Women's Union in Japan. The nonprofit, based in Tokyo's Kita Ward, is the first and only organization of its kind to be recognized and licensed by the Vietnamese Embassy. Pham Thi Bich Hau, who also goes by the Japanese name Akemi Mai, founded the union in 2021 and, now 39, serves as its chairperson. Its mission is to 'protect the rights of the Vietnamese women who are living, working and studying in Japan.'
Women from all walks of life
Pham arrived in Japan in 2009 to pursue a graduate degree in linguistics, but her career took a surprising turn.
'When I was about to write my master's thesis, I realized that I had a gift for interacting and connecting with people,' she says. 'I decided to quit graduate school and enroll in an international business vocational college.'
After graduating from vocational school in Tokyo in March 2013, she began working as an interpreter and instructor for Vietnamese migrants in a trainee management organization.
'Some female trainees experienced unplanned pregnancies, so I started to help them with hospital and other medical matters,' she says.
In 2013, around 10,200 Vietnamese people migrated to Japan under the Technical Intern Training Program. Just over a decade later, that number ballooned more than twentyfold to 212,141 in 2024, with Vietnamese nationals accounting for roughly half of all foreign trainees.
Business-savvy Pham launched her own company, AK Co., Ltd., in 2016. Since 2021, she has simultaneously run the Vietnam Women's Union while overseeing a health spa, nail salon and beauty vocational school in Saitama Prefecture.
'I gave birth to my second child at the beginning of the pandemic,' she says. 'It was a smooth and healthy delivery, and I was fluent in Japanese, so I was blessed in every way. But ... I know many women who struggle during pregnancy ... whether it's prenatal checkups or navigating childbirth.'
After having two children in Japan, Pham Thi Bich Hau was inspired to found the Vietnam Women's Union in 2021 to support her compatriots. |
Courtesy of Pham Thi Bich Hau
Her experience inspired her to found the Vietnam Women's Union and forge a connection with Daion Temple in Honjo, Saitama Prefecture. The temple is headed by Vietnamese nun Thich Tam Tri, who now serves as an adviser to the union.
As with her experience a decade prior, Pham translated and interpreted for trainees who abruptly left their programs and for students who became pregnant. She and Thich also helped others deal with issues ranging from expired visas to hospital stays and financial hardships.
One of the union's first activities was hosting a Tet festival, a traditional Lunar New Year celebration, for over 200 families during the pandemic. At Daion Temple, they had an opportunity to partake in familiar activities such as playing traditional games and wrapping banh chung — steamed glutinous rice cake with a mung bean and pork filling.
Through the Vietnam Women's Union, Pham has touched the lives of her compatriots across Japan, many of whom are married with children and reside in areas with fewer immigrants. In the Kanto region, Pham can organize in-person events, but in other parts of Japan she provides consultations by phone or via Zalo — Vietnam's most popular messaging app.
Pham recalls helping Tran Xuan Mai (a pseudonym to protect her privacy), a young mother with two daughters, finalize her divorce from a Japanese man. She not only interpreted at court and negotiated custody arrangements on behalf of Tran, but also found herself serving as a counselor of sorts.
'She was very anxious and stressed about the future,' Pham recalls. 'She was afraid they would take away her children.' Fortunately, with the help of Pham, Thich and the union's co-chair at the time, the court granted custody to Tran.
After her divorce, Tran moved with her children to Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture in 2024. Now 38, she works part-time at a local supermarket while devoting herself to an online business selling homemade birthday cakes to fellow Vietnamese expats.
After the Vietnam Women's Union helped her with a contentious divorce and custody battle, Tran Xuan Mai relocated to Aichi Prefecture with her daughters and started an online business specializing in Vietnamese desserts and snacks. |
Courtesy of Tran Xuan Mai
She has ambitions to expand her small business into a bigger operation when her daughters grow older. 'When I hug them, I feel like I can overcome anything,' Tran says.
A balancing act
While Tran endured tremendous hardship to rebuild her life, other Vietnamese women are quietly navigating everyday complexities — like Nguyen Ngoc Lan, 29, whose daughter turns 3 this summer.
Working for a global printing company in Tokyo, Nguyen finds herself constantly juggling motherhood and her career. 'You feel stressed, obviously,' Nguyen says. 'Especially as I'm trying to become a permanent employee. ... Caring for a child in Japan is different than in Vietnam.'
In Vietnam, a new mother usually has an abundance of support: her parents, her in-laws and sometimes even her neighbors. In Japan, especially in urban areas, these mothers are often on their own and receive little assistance from their husbands with full-time jobs. Day care centers can be extremely difficult to access because of a shortage of staff and facilities — a serious issue for the Japanese government in recent years.
'I'm still lucky because my husband works from home some days of the week, so he's able to help out a little,' says Nguyen. 'However, he is still a Japanese man, so work is always his top priority, and I'm the one who does most of the housework and takes care of our child.'
Like many Vietnamese women, Nguyen turned to Facebook groups for help sorting out her daughter's dual citizenship paperwork. In May, she finally secured a permanent position at her company. As her daughter grows, life has only gotten busier. She and her husband eventually found a day care near their home in Shinagawa Ward, but Nguyen has also made sure to teach her daughter about Vietnamese language and culture.
Nguyen Ngoc Lan has been juggling a full-time career and bicultural motherhood since her daughter was born in 2022. |
Courtesy of Nguyen Ngoc Lan
In Nguyen's bicultural household, bedtime stories often feature classic Vietnamese folktales, such as 'So Dua' (The Tale of the Coconut Shell Boy) or 'Thanh Giong' (The Legend of Thanh Giong). Nguyen is determined to ensure her daughter doesn't forget her roots, returning to Vietnam with her every year to explore the country and reconnect with family.
'She loves every minute of it,' Nguyen says.
Even as chairperson of the Vietnam Women's Union, Pham has struggled at times to balance work and motherhood. As an entrepreneur, she decided to return to work only a month after giving birth instead of taking the standard six months of maternity leave in Japan. Thankfully, she and her husband were able to sponsor both their mothers to come to Japan to help out.
Pham says it's critical to support fellow immigrants, especially as Japan's Vietnamese community continues to grow.
'At the moment, the Vietnam Women's Union's goal is to support younger generations who migrate to join family members here after their secondary education,' she says. 'We need to find a way to help them adjust to life in Japan and prepare them for the future.'
Motherhood anywhere is complex, and to step into this role far from home requires even more resourcefulness and resilience. As Japan grapples with ongoing labor shortages and an aging population, the Vietnamese community's role becomes increasingly vital.
The stories of these mothers and countless others like them offer a glimpse of how migrant groups are carving out space in Japanese society, contributing to both its economic growth and cultural diversity.