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Paper short abstract

Based on debates over the possible reintroduction of military service in Germany, this paper examines how young German–Japanese dual citizens and their families negotiate military obligations across national and generational contexts, shaping the meanings and practices of multiple citizenship.

Paper long abstract

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has renewed political debates on military service in Germany and questions of conscription, loyalty, and responsibility have returned to the public agenda. Previous studies have examined military service among people with migration backgrounds as an expression of moral obligation to the state or national belonging (Yohanani 2024). Other research has analysed it as a rational form of state commitment (Bontenbal et al., 2025), or has explored how citizenship can be used as a tool for wartime mobilisation (Bahovadinova & Borisova, 2025). However, less attention has been paid to how military obligations are negotiated across more than one national and generational context.

This presentation addresses this gap by examining how young people with dual German–Japanese citizenship living in Germany, together with their families, respond to ongoing political debates about the possible reintroduction of military service. Focusing on intergenerational relationships, the presentation explores how these young people face normative expectations to fulfil military obligations as citizens of their country of residence. At the same time, they are influenced by post-war Japanese pacifism rooted in the Japanese Constitution, as well as by parental generations on the Japanese side, who tend to avoid military service. The analysis shows that feelings of obligation are not simply accepted or rejected, but are adjusted through moral reasoning within families. The presentation also examines how these discussions about military service affect the meanings attached to multiple citizenship. It considers how young people maintain, reinterpret, or distance themselves from particular national affiliations.

Rather than treating military service as a fixed attribute inherent to citizenship, this presentation argues for the need to understand it as a negotiated and mutable dimension. Military obligation is shown to be shaped by transnational legal frameworks, historical experiences, and intergenerational moral thinking.