JF initiated the Summer Program for Aspiring Southeast Asian Scholars in Japanese Studies in 2025 with the cooperation of the National University of Singapore and the Japanese Studies Association of Southeast Asia (JSA-ASEAN). In this initial year, the program was conducted online, in Singapore and in Japan.

Purpose of the Program

Building a Network and Developing the Ability to Conduct Collaborative Research

This program aims at developing the basic skills necessary for conducting international and interdisciplinary collaborative research so that young scholars in Southeast Asian countries who are expected to take the lead in future Japanese studies can play an active role as international and interdisciplinary scholars in the future. The program consists of various parts, including a lecture on the essential knowledge that should be acquired as a scholar and a session to consider the importance of networking across academic fields as well as scholars’ career development. Participants give a mock panel presentation as the final assignment.

The program encourages participants to think about how their own research is intertwined with other research fields or society. It also requires participants not only to broaden their viewpoints to other fields of research, but also to deepen their understanding of their own research. Another purpose of the workshop is to help participants develop the ability to conduct collaborative research by encouraging them to proactively build a network with talented participants from Southeast Asian countries, as well as leading scholars who serve as lecturers and graduate students who are studying in Japan.

During the Workshop

Participants

【Affiliation of Participants】

• University of Indonesia
• Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
• National University Malaysia
• University Malaysia Sabah
• Universiti Utara Malaysia
• Ateneo de Manila University
• De La Salle University Manila
• University of the Philippines
• National University of Singapore
• Thammasat University
• Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages & Information Technology, University of Languages and International Studies-Vietnam National University Hanoi
• University of Social Sciences and Humanities-Vietnam National University Hanoi