This article takes a life course perspective to examine the immigration and settlement processes experienced by children of Japanese war orphans left behind in China. Due to legal, social and biological factors, the lifecourses of immigrants are analysed in four groups, determined their age and, concomitantly their year of immigration. “Child immigrants” immigrated by the mid-1980s at school age and steadily built working careers. Due to multiple factors, “adolescent immigrants” made a hasty decision to immigrate to Japan before reaching twenty in the late 1980s. As they did not have special skills, they remained unable to achieve upward mobility. “Young adult immigrants,” falling outside the age-limit eligible for government support, immigrated in 1990s at their own expense while in their 20s. It took a long time before attaining stability in life. “Elder adult immigrants” immigrated in the late 1990s and later while in their 30s. They continue to live at the bottom of the social ladder in Japan.
