Divergent pathways after return: Occupational mobility and transnational knowledge transfer of Vietnamese agricultural return migrants from Japan

This study examines the post-return occupational trajectories of Vietnamese migrants who worked in Japan’s agricultural sector under the Technical Intern Training Program. Based on in-depth interviews with 14 returnees, it conceptualizes occupational mobility as multidimensional, encompassing sectoral, horizontal, upward-oriented, spatial, and aspirational forms. Most respondents moved into non-agricultural work, whereas those remaining in agriculture often pursued organic farming. Migration-acquired resources were not inherently transferable; their occupational value depended on their interaction with household strategies, aspirations, social and transnational ties, and local structural conditions. Post-return pathways therefore reflect context-dependent human-capital revaluation rather than straightforward skill transfer or uniformly upward mobility.