Japanese Labour Migrants in Germany

The Role of Migration Industries

Bibliographic Data

ID9953797
AuthorsRuth Achenbach (0009-0007-5249-9703, Goethe University Frankfurt, corresponding author), Vanessa Ludwigs Tkotzyk (Goethe University Frankfurt), Vanessa Tkotzyk (0000-0003-4528-7343, Goethe University Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main Germany)
Year2026
Volume64
Issue3
Publication date2026-03-31
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Migration (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-7985 • E-ISSN: 1468-2435
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/imig.70156
OpenAlexW7147489570
LanguageEN
References cited21

This paper examines how and when Japanese labour migrants use the offers of various migration industry actors in their migration to Germany. The ways in which Japanese university‐educated migrants utilise services vary considerably depending on their entry channel, point in the migratory trajectory, migrant capital, and migratory goals. This paper places the individual and their interaction with migration infrastructure and industries at the centre of the analysis. It therefore addresses a gap in the literature by focusing on an empirically under‐researched case, while simultaneously expanding the perspective to move beyond the role of migration industries in the early stages of migration to their role throughout the migratory trajectory. Based on qualitative data collected from migrants, migration industry actors, and experts on Japanese migrants in Germany, this explorative study sheds light on the interplay between agency and structure, as well as on the role of migration infrastructure and industry throughout the trajectories of different types of migrants

Agency (philosophy · Human migration · Internal migration · Irregular migration · Migrant workers · Perspective (graphical · Japanese History and Culture · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

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Open DOIOpen Access