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.
August 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
【New Research Associate】
・Adam John Simpson (International Studies): CSEAS welcomes Adam John Simpson as Guest Scholar from August 26 to September 26.
・Cheng-Chwee Kuik (International Relations): CSEAS welcomes Cheng-Chwee Kuik as Guest Scholar from September 7 to March 4, 2026.
・Niken Prilandita (Urban Planning): CSEAS welcomes Niken Prilandita as Guest Research Associate from September 1 to January 31, 2026.
・Jefferson Metz Fox (Geoinformatics): CSEAS welcomes Jefferson Metz Fox as Visiting Research Scholar from September 1 to November 30.
・Marady Oum (Librarian): CSEAS welcomes Marady Oum as Visiting Research Scholar from September 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026.
・Johannes Coenraad Pols (History, Sociology): CSEAS welcomes Johannes Coenraad Pols as Visiting Research Scholar from September 10, 2025 to January 31, 2026.
・Maria Vina Albero Lanzona (History): CSEAS welcomes Maria Vina Alberto Lanzona as Visiting Research Scholar from September 15 to December 14.
【Visitor’s Voice】New interview article is available now. We asked them about their research, future ambitions, and more.
Interview with Sandeep Ray: “Old Media Matters: New Approaches to Asian Studies”
【Award】Congratulations! Assoc. Prof. Yoshimi Nishi received the 40th (2025) Daido Life Foundation Incentive Award for Area Studies.
【Call for Application】Global Young Scholars into the Future (GYSF) Program Assistant Professor (Non-tenure track; Applications deadline: 30 September 2025)
【Call for Application】CSEAS Fellowship AY2026 (Deadline: 31 August 2025)
【Call for short documentaries】VDP2025: Living “Deviance” (Applications deadline: November 30, 2025)
【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
・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
・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)
・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)
・133rd KUASS: “Thinking the Anatomy of the African Neocolonial State Today”
Date & Time: Monday, 29 September 2025, 3:00ｰ5:00 (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）
・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
【Forthcoming】Southeast Asian Studies Vol. 14 No. 2 will be on August 28, 2025.
Journal’s website / J-STAGE
【Latest Issue】Vol. 63, No. 1 of the Japanese Journal of Southeast Asian Studies was published on July 31. All articles and book reviews can be downloaded from the journal’s website , KURENAI , and J-Stage .
【Latest Issue】
・Special issue (40) titled “Eroding Electoral Integrity: Reasons for Democratic Backsliding in Southeast Asia” of Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia is out on March 1, 2025. In this issue, Asia Centre serves as the guest editor and includes five articles. Each article is available in English, Japanese, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Myanmar on our website. Five book reviews are also available.
【New Article】
・TRENDSETTERS column “A pragmatic approach towards peace in Southern Thailand,” by Sascha Helbardt , in Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia on August 1, 2025.
【Latest Issue】The next issue of the CSEAS Newsletter will be on September 10. Back issues are available here: .
【New Article】Thi Ngan Mai, Thi Huong Giang Tran, Van Hieu Dong, Van Phan Le, Thi My Le Huynh, Tran Anh Dao Bui, Ryoko Uemura, Yasuko Yamazaki, Thi Lan Nguyen & Wataru Yamazaki (2025), “A highly sensitive method for detecting African swine fever virus in oral fluids from naturally infected pigs in Northern Vietnam,” Scientific Reports 15: 27855 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-12139-8
【New Article】Mudjahid M, Latada NP, Ophinni Y, Nainu F. Drosophila-based screening of herbal compounds targeting FOXO signaling pathway in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2025 Jul 31; 16: 1–6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2025.1621414
4. Presentations
【Lecture】Majid Daneshgar, “New Evidence about the History of Siam in the 17th-Century: New People, New Life and New Culture,” “Southeast Asian Materials in Three Book Cabinets at Cambridge University Library,” special lectures at the South Asian Studies Center, Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University, 26 August 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
・The Oakland Library Heritage Trust blog has posted news about the publication of Associate Professor Majid Daneshgar’s work, Persianate Prose and the Making of Malay Muslim Literature: Text, Translation and Commentary of the Durr al-Majalis (August 4, 2025).
・ASAFAS Professor Shuichi Oyama appeared on NHK World’s interview program “Direct News” (broadcast on August 13, 2025).
Halting Desertification with Waste: Oyama Shuichi / Professor, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature / Kyoto University Graduate School
7. Past Events
・Tea, Talk, and Trends: Fertility, Migration, and Development in East Asia
Date & Time: Tuesday, 19 August 2025, 1:00–3:00 pm (Japan Time)
Venue: Tonantei (I201), 2nd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
Talk Leader: Yu Bai (Minzu University of China), Lidan Lyu (Renmin University of China)
Moderator: Yalei Zhai (CSEAS)
・Learning Southeast Asian Culture and Society: Screening
Date & Time: Saturday, 16 August 2025, 6 pm– (Japan Time)
Venue: Multimedia room 2, East Building, CSEAS Kyoto University
Title: One Cut of the Dead (Japanese with English subtitles)
・Courtesy Visit from the UMY Communication Science Study Program
Date: Friday, 15 August 2025
・Special Seminar
Date & Time: Friday, 1 August 2025, 3–5 pm (Japan Time)
Venue: Seminar Room (I213), 2nd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
Title: Talcott Parsons Comes to Campus: A Marcos Dictatorship Think Tank and the University of the Philippines
Speaker: Patricio Nunez Abinales (Visiting Research Scholar, CSEAS)
Discussant: Yusuke Takagi (GRIPS)
・Workshop on Biodiversity and Food Security in Southeast Asia: Linking Traditional Knowledge, Regional Landscapes, and Economic Practices
Date and Time: Thursday, 31 July 2025, 3:00–5:30 pm (Japan Time)
Venue: Seminar Room (I213), 2nd floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
Chair: Yalei ZHAI (CSEAS)
・International Seminar: Fifty Years of Research on Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Hunter-Gatherers in the Congo Basin and Contributions to the Future
Date & Time: Monday, 28 July, 2025, 4:00–6:30 pm (Japan Time)
Venue: Large Meeting Room (I333), 3rd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University / Online (Zoom)
・CSEAS Colloquium
Date & Time: Monday, 28 July 2025, 2:00–3:30 pm (Japan Time)
Venue: Seminar Room (I213), 2nd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
Title: Elusive Inclusive Growth in the Philippines: State Tradition and Policy Choices (Manufacturing, MSMEs, CCT)
Speaker: Maria Victoria Raquiza (NCPAG, University of the Philippines Diliman / Visiting Research Scholar, CSEAS)
■Endnote
Starting this summer, I will be staying abroad for a long period of time. In preparing for this, I have received tremendous kindness from everyone at the institute—whether in arranging my move, preparing my visa, purchasing electronic devices, or finding storage for my belongings. Each time I turn a corner in the hallway, I meet someone concerned about my situation, whose kind words make me smile. When I reach out by email with a difficult situation, I immediately receive thoughtful help in finding the best solution, and I am truly grateful. As we enter an era where the entire globe faces a huge institutional change, one professor encouraged me saying, “this will be a valuable opportunity to observe such situations”. Even before my departure, I am embracing the kindness and care of everyone around me. Although my research usually focuses on how institutions are strategically used, I find myself now wanting to study something else: the resilient human warmth and bonds that emerge most vividly when institutions themselves waver. (T.T.)
––– CSEAS Digital News Issue 44 –––––––––
Public Relations Committee
Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Kyoto University
Calling for information:
Research activities form / Event form / E-mail
CSEAS website
CSEAS Movies
TANKEN Video
Newsletter
Facebook / X/Twitter / Instagram / Bluesky
––––––––––––––––––––– 2025/8/27––––––––