Dear friends and colleagues,

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) Kyoto University is pleased to announce the launch of a monthly internal newsletter. This will be sent out on a monthly basis and include updates on activities, research meetings, events, new publications and podcasts.

September 2025 issue includes:

　1. Announcements and Highlights
　2. Upcoming Events
　3. Publications: Hot off the CSEAS Press
　4. Presentations
　5. Podcasts in Japanese: “Book Talk on Asia”
　6. Media Exposure
　7. Past Events

Thank you and regards,

The Public Relations Committee,
Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS)

1. Announcements and Highlights

【September Get Together】
・The monthly welcome and farewell party, Get Together, will be held on Thursday, September 25, from 12:30 pm at the Small Meeting Room II (#332 on the 3rd floor of Inamori Center). Please join us and have an opportunity to enjoy small talk.
　We have updated the visiting scholars’ web page. Please check here

【New Research Associate】
・Pratama Yudha Pradheksa (Science and Technology): CSEAS welcomes Pratama Yudha Pradheksa as Guest Research Associate from September 9, 2025 to March 1, 2026.
・Ching Kwan Lee (Sociology): CSEAS welcomes Ching Kwan Lee as Guest Scholar from September 18 to June 30, 2026.
・Rosita Dewi (Southeast Asian Studies / Politics): CSEAS welcomes Rosita Dewi as Guest Research Associate from September 23 to December 13.
・Herry Jogaswara (Anthropology): CSEAS welcomes Herry Jogaswara as Guest Scholar from October 1st to 21st.

【Call for Application】Global Young Scholars into the Future (GYSF) Program Assistant Professor (Non-tenure track; Application deadline: 30 September 2025)

【Call for short documentaries】VDP2025: Living “Deviance” (Applications deadline: November 30, 2025)

【Call for Application】Japan Foundation Southeast Asia Partnership (JFSEAP) Program: Visiting Fellowship (Inbound) / Grant Program for Japan-ASEAN Global Partnership (Application deadline: 1 p.m., December 2, 2025 (Japan Time))

【Call for participants】Kyoto University International Symposium 2025 on Education and Research in Global Environmental Studies in Asia (Dec 2–3, 2025 at IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia)

2. Upcoming Events

・Special Seminar
　Date & Time: Wednesday, 24 September 2025, 3–6 pm (Japan Time)
　Venue: Seminar Room (I213), 2nd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
　Title 1: The Hidden Political Economy of Apartment Governance in Jakarta
　Speaker 1: Ruriana Nafilah Anggraini (PhD Candidate, ASAFAS Kyoto University)
　Title 2: Reimagining Resistance: Feminist and Housing Rights Activism in Contemporary Indonesia
　Speaker 2: Intan Paramaditha (Macquarie University/Sekolah Pemikiran Perempuan), Aryo Danusiri (University of Indonesia/rimpang collective)

・CSEAS Reading Group Session
　Date & Time: Friday, 26 September 2025, 4pm– (Japan Time)
　Venue: Tonantei (I201), 2nd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
　Book Title: Helen Czerski. Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes Our World. Penguin, 2024.
　Instructor: Youdiil Ophinni (CSEAS)

・Learning Southeast Asian Culture and Society: Screening
　Date & Time: Friday, 26 September 2025, 18:00– (Japan Time)
　Venue: Multimedia Room 2, 1st Floor, East Bldg, CSEAS Kyoto University
　Title: Chungking Express 恋する惑星/重慶森林 (103min. Cantonese, with Japanese subtitles)

・Toward Enhanced ASEAN-Japan Mobility Cooperation: International Workshop on Issues Surrounding Japan-Southeast Asia’s Mobility
　Date & Time: Sunday, 28 September 2025, 10:00–18:00 (Japan Time)
　Venue: Ritsumeikan University, Osaka Ibaraki Campus, Building B, 4th Floor, Room B112 and Online (via Zoom)
　Mario Lopez (CSEAS) will make a presentation entitled “In ‘Migrant Workers’ We Trust? Bottom-up Co-existence and the Hard Limits of Japan’s Migration Policies”

・Crete Talk hosted by IFOHS, Kyoto University
　Date & Time: Monday, 29 September 2025, 10–12 am (Japan Time)
　Venue: Middle Meeting Room (I332), 3rd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
　Title: Tradition, Identity, and Resilience in the Southeastern Aegean: The case of Kalymnos island, the greatest fishing community in the Eastern Mediterranean
　Speaker: Aristeidis Tsantiropoulos & Mavra Stithou (Crete University)

・133rd KUASS: “Thinking the Anatomy of the African Neocolonial State Today”
　Date & Time: Monday, 29 September 2025, 3ｰ5pm (Japan Time)
　Venue: Middle Meeting Room (I332), 3rd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
　Speaker: Dr. Michael Neocosmos (Emeritus Professor in Humanities, Rhodes University, South Africa）

・CSEAS Colloquium
　Date & Time: Thursday, 16 October 2025, 12:00–13:00 (Japan Time)
　Venue: Tonantei (I201), 2nd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
　Speaker: Jiří Jákl (Palacky University Olomouc / Visiting Research Scholar, CSEAS)
　Title: Extinct or Still Around? Javanese Large Mammals (the Javan Tiger, Rhinoceros, Elephant) and Their Histories
　Chair: Tomohiro Machikita (CSEAS)

・The 49th Southeast Asia Seminar
　Date: 19–24 November 2025
　Venue: Phnom Penh/Sihanoukville, Cambodia
　Theme: Global Disruptions and Southeast Asia: Exploring histories, narratives, and transdisciplinary challenges

3. Publications: Hot off the CSEAS Press

【Latest Issue】Southeast Asian Studies Vol. 14 No. 2 on August 28, 2025.
　Journal website / KURENAI / J-STAGE 　

【Latest Issue】Japanese Journal of Southeast Asian Studies Vol. 63, No. 1 on July 31.
　Journal website / KURENAI / J-STAGE
　
【Latest Issue】
・Special issue (41) titled “History with Documents: New Research on the Indonesian Left” of Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia is out on September 1, 2025.
　In this issue, Thiti Jamkajornkeiat serves as the guest editor and includes five articles. Each article is available in English, Japanese, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, Filipino, Vietnamese, Myanmar, and new this issue, Kumer. Five book reviews are also available.

【New Article】
・TRENDSETTERS column “Exploring the Role of Contextual Evidence in Understanding the Myanmar-Yunnan (China) Border from a Microeconomic Perspective,” by Zhai Yalei, in Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia on September 1, 2025. 　

【Latest Issue】CSEAS monthly newsletter released on September 10.
　[Notes from the Field] Kisho Tsuchiya, “Masuda Hajimu and Cold War Studies: Asian Experience and Global History.”
　[Letter from the Kamogawa River] Julie Ann de los Reyes, “On the Edge.”

【New Article/Online First】Zhai, Y. (2025). High Confucian Familism Adherence but Low Fertility Intentions: Evidence From the Lowest Fertility Rate City in China. Journal of Family Issues, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X251379010

【New Article】Ogawa, M.I., Kimura, S.S., Ishiai, N., Akamatsu, T. A hybrid method combining rule-based filter and machine learning to detect porpoise and vessel sounds from a pulse event recorder. Scientific Reports 15, 31211 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-16370-1

【New Article】Adam Simpson, “Thailand has another new prime minister and an opening for progress. But will anything change?” The Conversation, September 5, 2025.

4. Presentations

【Lecture】Youdiil Ophinni, Chika Yamada. “One Health approach in managing viral diseases.” Guest Lecture in the Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Universitas Sam Ratulangi, Manado, Indonesia, 25 August 2025.

【Presentation】Julie Ann de los Reyes, Session 5 (Panel, with Prof. Haruko Satoh): Global Governance and Institutional Structures for Sustainable Value Creation, Valuism Conference 2025, 28 August 2025, Doshisha University, Kyoto.

【Presentation】Mariko Ogawa, “Land use and human livelihoods under climate change: the case of tropical peatlands in Indonesia,” 2025 Asian Conference for Young Scholars of Southeast Asian Studies (AYSEA), 4–6 September 2025, CU Social Innovation Hub, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.

【Presentation】Ye Htet, “Supporting Quality of Life in Elderly Care: Enhancing Comfort, Safety, and Trust,” 2025 Asian Conference for Young Scholars of Southeast Asian Studies (AYSEA), 4–6 September 2025, CU Social Innovation Hub, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.

【Book Launch】Majid Daneshgar, Book Launch: Persianate Prose and the Making of Malay Muslim Literature, The Global Mediterranean at ILCAA, September 6, 2025, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, with online access with Zoom.

【Presentation】Saliza Bono, Satoko S. Kimura, Ng Sher Lynn, Teoh Zhi Yi, Ng Jol Ern, Kotaro Ichikawa, Louisa S. Ponnampalam, “Impacts of Anthropogenic Underwater Noise to the Acoustic Behaviour of the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins in Northwest Peninsular Malaysia,” International Bioacoustics Congress, September 7–12, 2025, Kerteminde, Denmark.

【Panel organization】Tomoko Takahashi, panel organization “United Nations General Assembly Research in International Relations,” 121st American Political Science Association (APSA) Annual Meeting & Exhibition, 12 September 2025, Vancouver, Canada.

【Presentation】Tomoko Takahashi, “United Nations General Assembly and Unrecognized Relationships,” in Division 17: International Collaboration: panel “United Nations General Assembly Research in International Relations,” 121st American Political Science Association (APSA) Annual Meeting & Exhibition, 12 September 2025, Vancouver, Canada.

【Presentation】Yuta Moriguchi, Satoko S. Kimura, Manabu Kume, Junichi Takagi, Hiromichi Mitamura “Telomere Length across Tissues and its Relationship with Total Length in the Japanese Eel,” 1st Asian International Eel Symposium, September 11–15, 2025, Amami-Ohshima Island, Kagoshima.

【Presentation】Julie Ann de los Reyes, (Panel, with Walden Bello, CP Chandrasekhar, and Chukki Nanjundaswamy) “Conversation on Globalization and Deglobalization,” and (Presentation) “The ‘Criticality’ of Critical Minerals: Implications for Energy Transitions and Global Power,” Focus on the Global South – Chulalongkorn University Social Research Institute, 25 September 2025, Bangkok, Thailand.

5. Podcasts in Japanese: “Book Talk on Asia”

　In this program, the Editorial Office, CSEAS introduces the latest books on Asia. The authors are invited to talk about the contents and background of their books.

6. Media Exposure

・South China Morning Post, September 18, 2025, featured comments from Prof. Adam Simpson, Visiting Research Scholar of CSEAS.
　“Why plans by India and US to tap Myanmar’s rare earths are fraught with risks”

・A video introducing Associate Professor Majid Daneshgar’s recent book Persianate Prose and the Making of Malay Muslim Literature has been posted on the Instagram account of “Inekas,” a platform sharing the latest trends in Islamic studies.

7. Past Events

・CSEAS Colloquium
　Date & Time: Wednesday, 24 September 2025, 2–4pm (Japan Time)
　Venue: Tonantei (I201), 2nd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
　Title: Japan’s Legal Transplants and Their Discontents: A Critical Appraisal
　Speaker: Ratno Lukito (State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Indonesia / Visiting Research Scholar, CSEAS) 　

・Courtesy Visit from ASEAN-KOREA Centre
　Date: Wednesday, 24 September 2025

・PNC 2025 Annual Conference and Joint Meetings Special Session 16: Research Data Management in Japanese Academic Research Institutions
　Date & Time: Monday, 22 September 2025, 8:15–9:45 (Japan Time), 10:15–11:45 (Vietnam Time)
　Venue: 1B, Institute of Social Sciences Information, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam

・Southeast Asian Studies in Southeast Asia and Japan: A dialogue in the Project INTERACT
　Date & Time: Saturday, 20 September 2025, 2–5 pm (Japan Time)
　Venue: Seminar Room (213), 2nd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
　Co-host: SEASREP Foundation, CSEAS, Japan Foundation

・Courtesy Visit from Syiah Kuala University
　Thursday, 18 September 2025

・GYSF Exchange Professorship Report
　Date & Time: Wednesday, 17 September 2025, 2–4 pm (Japan Time)
　Venue: Seminar Room (I213), 2nd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
　Speaker: Kisho Tsuchiya (CSEAS)
　Title: In Search of Subaltern Consciousness: Histories in the Life Stories of the Mindanawon People

・My Kyoto Seminar
　Date & Time: Tuesday, 9 September 2025, 9:00–11:40 (open: 8:30) (Japan Time)
　Venue: Large Meeting Room (I333), 3rd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
　Theme: Alternative Sustainability and DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) from ASEAN-Japan Perspectives
　Participation: Pre-registration (Deadline: August 29)

・Tonan Talk by Sandeep RAY
　Date & Time: Monday, 8 September 2025, 10:30–12:00 am (Japan Time)
　Venue: Seminar Room (I213), 2nd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
　Title: Scenes from a Slow Departure: Archival Visuals of Japanese Surrendered Personnel in Southeast Asia
　Speaker: Sandeep Ray (University of Nottingham Malaysia / CSEAS Visiting Research Scholar)
　Chair: Hiroyuki Yamamoto (CSEAS)

・AYSEA 2025: Asian Conference for Young Scholars of Southeast Asian Studies
　Date: 4–5 September 2025
　Venue: CU Social Innovation Hub, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
　Theme: Asia in a Fragile World

■Endnote

Without us even noticing, change is already happening all around us this week. Monday felt like the last day of summer, and on Tuesday at approximately 3:20 AM JST, the Sun crossed the celestial equator, moving south to begin the autumn equinox. Today, Wednesday, is the first full day of autumn. From now on, the seasons will shift, temperatures will cool, fashions will evolve, and even supermarket displays will transform. These ordinary changes remind us of impermanence—the truth that everything is in flux: our minds, our bodies, and the world around us. Change itself is the only thing that endures. At this moment, have you appreciated the life you have? Have you given your full care to your loved ones, knowing that this very moment will soon pass? I am reminding myself to meet each change with mindfulness and acceptance, and I hope you are too. (Y.H.)

I had the opportunity to learn about emerging trends in Southeast Asian Studies within the region. Over the past fifteen years, universities in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia have multiplied their programs dedicated to Southeast Asian Studies. In response to parental expectations and job market demands, they have crafted curricula emphasizing career-oriented training, while also making use of geographical proximity to organize student study trips across borders. The situation is a far cry from recent past, when people remarked that the field was “shifting toward Singapore” or asked skeptically, “Where could such a degree even lead in terms of employment?” Today, we are instead witnessing the steady growth of diverse traditions of Southeast Asian Studies taking root across the region. For me, this was a reminder of how essential it has become—both for designing research projects and for nurturing the next generation of scholars in Japan—to deepen our engagement with colleagues across Asia. (KT)

––– CSEAS Digital News Issue 45 –––––––––

Public Relations Committee
Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Kyoto University

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