Ruth Achenbach is one of the co-coordinators of AFRASO.
She received her PhD in Japanese studies with her thesis on "Return Migration Decisions: A Study on Highly Skilled Chinese in Japan" (Springer VS) from the University of Hamburg in 2015. The study is mainly based on empirical data collected during three periods of field work in Japan (Waseda University, German Institute for Japanese Studies) and China (Shanghai and Beijing).
She had previously majored in Japanese studies (minors: international law, Chinese and Korean studies) at the University of Hamburg and Meiji Gakuin University (Tokyo).
Her research interests include migration and decision making theory, particularly student migration in Asia, and IR theory.