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Paper short abstract

Following the reintroduction of Germany’s military service system, this paper draws on exploratory interviews with 14 Japanese mothers to examine how military service is understood within German–Japanese families and how these discussions may shape meanings attached to multiple citizenship.

Paper long abstract

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has renewed debates on military service in Germany. Previous studies have examined military service among diaspora populations and individuals with migrant backgrounds in relation to belonging, integration, and motives for participation (Yohanani 2024; Bontenbal et al. 2025). Other research has explored how citizenship can become entangled with wartime mobilisation (Bahovadinova & Borisova 2025). However, less attention has been paid to how military service is understood within binational families in relation to different national and generational experiences.

This paper examines how military service is understood within German–Japanese families living in Germany. Based on exploratory interviews with 14 Japanese mothers in these families, the study considers their own views as well as their accounts of views expressed by their partners and children. Particular attention is paid to experiences of military or civilian service in Germany and to Japan’s post-war pacifist context. The paper also examines how discussions about military service may affect the meanings attached to multiple citizenship.

Rather than treating attitudes towards military service as direct expressions of citizenship or loyalty, this paper approaches them as context-dependent and shaped by family experiences. The 14 family cases do not support broader generalisations, but they point to different ways in which military obligation, civic duty, and multiple forms of belonging are understood where Japan’s post-war pacifist context, German experiences of military and civilian service, and changing European security conditions intersect.