Ikuko Sahara, representative of a volunteer group teaching Japanese to foreigners in Tokyo, knows it's no picnic living in a foreign country without being familiar with the language.

Sahara, 51, has lived in Britain, Norway, Sweden, France and Singapore over the course of 17 years thanks to her husband's career.

"I know well how tough it is being in an unfamiliar foreign country," she said. "I hope to help my students by teaching useful words, even if it's just one conversational phrase and one greeting."