Keynote Speaker 1
Dr. SATO Jin, Professor and Director, Institute of Advanced Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo
Keynote Speech Topic:
“Preemptive Development: Rethinking Sustainability from Problem-Solving to Problem Prevention”
Professor Sato is a scholar of development studies whose research focuses on natural resource governance and administration, foreign aid, and development in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia. His work examines the politics of natural resources, state–society relations, environmental governance, and the ways in which institutions and public policies shape access to and control over resources. He has also conducted extensive research on international development cooperation and the evolving role of Asian donors. His scholarship has appeared in leading international journals including World Development, Development and Change, Journal of Development Studies, and Sustainability Science. He was awarded the Japan Academy Medal in the humanities and social sciences in 2013.
Keynote Speaker 2
Dr. Nagata Kenji, Technical Advisor for Water Resources, Global Environment Department at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Keynote Speech Topic:
“Water Security and Sustainable Development: Lessons from Japan’s Experience and International Cooperation”
Dr. Nagata specializes in international water governance, integrated water resources management (IWRM), flood management, disaster risk reduction, and climate resilience. His work focuses on strengthening river basin governance, institutional and policy frameworks for sustainable water management, and the integration of climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction into development planning. Through JICA, he has been actively engaged in international and regional cooperation, particularly in Southeast Asia, working with governments and regional institutions to promote transboundary water cooperation, knowledge sharing, and evidence-based approaches to resilient water resources management.
International Panel Session
Topic: “From Partnership to Practice: ASEAN and Country Perspectives on Sustainable Development and Japan’s Engagement in Southeast Asia”
1st Panelist
Dr. Tang Siew Mun (TBC**), Visiting Fellow, East Asian International Relations Caucus
Dr. TANG Siew Mun is the Head of the ASEAN Studies Centre and concurrently a Senior Fellow at the Regional Strategic and Political Studies programme at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. His primary research interests are Asian security, ASEAN’s relations with the major powers and Japanese foreign policy. Prior to joining ISEAS, he was Director for Foreign Policy and Security Studies at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia and Senior Lecturer at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He has contributed to numerous book chapters and op-ed pieces in addition to national and international journals. Tang holds a B.A (Hons.) from the National University of Malaysia, a MA in War Studies from King’s College London, a MA in International Studies from the Claremont Graduate University and a Ph.D. from Arizona State University in Political Science.
2nd Panelist
Dr. Yulius Purwadi Hermawan, Chair of Parahyangan Center for International Studies
Senior Lecturer in the Department of International Relations and Head of the PACIS & PACES Study Center at Parahyangan Catholic University (UNPAR), Indonesia.
Dr. Hermawan’s research interests focus on international organizations and global governance, with particular attention to Indonesia’s role in the G20, ASEAN integration, and the changing architecture of international cooperation. His work has extensively examined Indonesia’s engagement with the G20 process, global governance institutions, and the country’s evolving role as an emerging development cooperation and aid provider. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds, an M.A. in Politics with a concentration in East Asian Studies from Monash University, and a degree in International Relations from Gadjah Mada University.
3rd Panelist
Asst. Prof. Dr. Karl Ian Uy Cheng Chua, University of the Philippines
Assistant Professor at the Asian Center, University of the Philippines – Diliman, Philippines
Dr. Cheng Chua’s research interests center on Japanese Studies, popular culture, Shōwa history, manga and comics studies, children’s literature, and the social and cultural history of Southeast and East Asia. His work particularly examines Japanese cultural representation in the Philippines, visual and digital media, World War II in Southeast Asia, and the historical and cultural intersections between Japan and the region. He holds a Master’s degree in Japanese Studies from the National University of Singapore and a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from Hitotsubashi University, Japan. A former Asia Public Intellectual Junior Fellow and Japan Foundation Japanese Studies Fellow, he is actively involved in advancing Japanese Studies across Southeast Asia as the Secretary General of Japanese Studies Association of Southeast Asia (JSA-ASEAN). He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of Social Science Diliman and is a member of the editorial board of the East Asian Journal of Popular Culture; Comic Studies: Aesthetics, Histories and Practices and Wilayah: The International Journal of East Asian Studies
4th Panelist
Asst. Prof. Dr. Thanikun Chantra, FHEA, Dean, School of Social Innovation, Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand.
Dr. Thanikun Chantra is a political scientist and international development scholar whose research focuses on governance, political participation, civil society, international development cooperation, and sustainable development in Southeast Asia. Her work has examined conflict and peaceful political participation in Southern Thailand, disaster resilience and volunteerism, participatory governance, and the role of civil society in sustainable infrastructure development. More recently, her study has addressed transboundary governance challenges in the Mekong region and Japan’s engagement in international development cooperation, with particular interest in knowledge and technology transfer and co-creation. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and degrees from Monash University, Mahidol University, Thammasat University, and Chulalongkorn University.