#Center for Southeast Asian Studies (Kyoto University)

[southeastasianarchaeology]

Kyoto opportunities - Maritime Asia Heritage Survey

The Maritime Asia Heritage Survey Project in Kyoto University is seeking to fill two postions for Digital Heritage Content Officer and Heritage Database Officer. Closing date is 30 March 2024.

The Maritime Asia Heritage Survey Project in Kyoto University is seeking to fill two postions for Digital Heritage Content Officer and Heritage Database Officer. Closing date is 30 March 2024. Source: Kyoto opportunities – Maritime Asia Heritage Survey

[dinaive]

Identifying high-impact journals specific to Malay history may require consulting academic databases and resources, as the prominence of journals can change over time. However, as of my last knowledge update in September 2021, I can provide you with a list of some journals that have historically published significant research in the field of Malay history. Please note that the impact factor and status of these journals may have evolved since then, so it's essential to verify their current impact and relevance before submitting your work. Here are a few notable journals:

Journal of Southeast Asian Studies: While this journal covers Southeast Asian studies broadly, it often includes articles on Malay history and culture. It is published by the Cambridge University Press and has a strong reputation in the field.

Indonesia and the Malay World: This journal focuses specifically on the history and culture of Indonesia and the Malay World. It has a history of publishing research related to the Malay archipelago.

Kajian Malaysia: A journal that concentrates on research related to Malaysia, it covers various aspects of Malaysian history, society, and culture.

Asian Journal of Social Science: This interdisciplinary journal includes articles on various Asian societies, including those in the Malay world. It may feature historical research from a social science perspective.

Southeast Asian Studies: Published by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University, this journal covers Southeast Asian history and culture, including topics related to the Malay world.

Malaysian Journal of History, Politics & Strategy: This journal publishes research on various aspects of Malaysian history and politics, making it a potential outlet for research related to Malay history.

Please keep in mind that the list above is not exhaustive, and the status of journals can change over time. It's important to check the latest rankings and impact factors to identify the most current high-impact journals in the field of Malay history. Additionally, you should consider the specific focus and scope of each journal to determine which one aligns best with your research interests.

[baliportalnews]

Puluhan Mahasiswa dari Filipina dan Indonesia Bahas Perubahan Iklim di Summer Course UGM

BALIPORTALNEWS.COM, YOGYAKARTA - Sebanyak 23 mahasiswa dari lima negara mengikuti Summer Course on Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation (Eco-DRR and CCA) di Fakultas Geografi UGM pada 21-26 Agustus 2023. Dalam kegiatan yang berlangsung secara bauran tersebut para peserta belajar tentang upaya mitigasi dan adaptasi terhadap perubahan iklim yang resilien melalui pendekatan ekosistem. Tahun ini summer course diikuti peserta dari Filipina dan Indonesia yang sebagian besar merupakan dosen, mahasiswa Program Master ataupun Doktoral dari Fakultas Geografi dan Fakultas Teknik UGM dari Departemen Teknik Arsitektur dan Perencanaan. Kegiatan ini juga diikuti oleh perwakilan instansi pemerintah. Beberapa diantaranya Sekolah Tinggi Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (STMKG) dan Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan (KLHK) Republik Indonesia. Pembukaan summer course dilaksanakan pada Senin (21/8/2023) yang dihadiri oleh 23 peserta dan narasumber yang berasal dari lima negara. Sambutan disampaikan oleh Koordinator Summer Course sekaligus mewakili Fakultas Gegorafi yaitu Wakil Dekan Bidang Penelitian, Kerja Sama, dan Alumni, Dr. Dyah Rahmawati Hizbaron, M.T., M.Sc., Lalu, dilanjutkan sambutan oleh perwakilan dari Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) Office. Dyah menyampaikan penyelenggaraan summer course tahun ini pertama kali dilaksanakan secara luring setelah terjadinya Pandemi Covid-19. Summer course kali ini merupakan kelanjutan dari berbagai aktivitas terkait Eco-DRR and CCA yang telah diselenggarakan oleh Fakultas Geografi UGM sejak tahun 2010. Summer course terdiri dari berbagai kegiatan berupa Short Course, Summer Course, Training of Instructors, Workshop, Webinar, Joint Research Project, dan Young Researchers School. Ditambahkan Dyah, untuk narasumber dari UGM berasal dari Fakultas Teknik, Pusat Studi Bencana, dan Pusat Studi Asia dan Pasifik. Selain narasumber dari luar UGM berasal dari University of Glasgow, Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI) Kyoto University, Universita de Padova, UN Environmental Programm (UNEP), Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR), University of Nagoya, and Chinese Academy of Science. “Lewat kegiatan summer course ini diharapkan dapat meningkatkan upaya memahami data, kondisi lapangan, dan upaya mitigasi dan adaptasi terhadap perubahan iklim yang resilien melalui pendekatan ekosistem. Upaya ini sejalan dengan komitmen UGM dalam peningkatan kualitas pembelajaran baik secara luring maupun virtual sebagai World Class University,” paparnya.(ugm.ac.id/bpn) Read the full article

[sounmashnews]

[ad_1] Here is a take a look at the lifetime of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Birth date: June 19, 1945 Birth place: Rangoon (Yangon), Burma (Myanmar) Birth identify: Aung San Suu Kyi Father: Aung San, commander of the Burma Independence Army. Helped negotiate Burma’s independence from Britain. Assassinated on July 19, 1947. Mother: Ma Khin Kyi, diplomat and later an envoy to India. Marriage: Michael Aris (January 1, 1972-March 27, 1999, his loss of life) Children: Kim (Burmese identify: Htein Lin) and Alexander (Burmese identify: Myint San Aung) Education: St. Hughes College, Oxford University, B.A. in philosophy, politics and economics, 1967 Religion: Buddhist Referred to as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; “Daw” is an honorific title. Grew up in Myanmar and India however moved to England within the Sixties. 1964 - Moves to England to review at Oxford University. 1969-1971 - Works on the United Nations in New York as assistant secretary for the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. 1985-1986 - Is a visiting scholar on the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan. 1987 - Is a fellow on the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies in Simla, India. April 1988 - Returns to Myanmar when her mom suffers a extreme stroke. August 26, 1988 - In her first public handle, exterior the Shwedagon Pagoda, requires a multiparty democratic authorities. September 24, 1988 - Co-founds the National League for Democracy (NLD), a celebration devoted to nonviolence and civil disobedience, and is appointed normal secretary. July 20, 1989 - Is positioned underneath home arrest for fees of making an attempt to divide the army, fees she denies. May 27, 1990 - Her social gathering, the NLD, wins greater than 80% of the legislative seats, however the State Law and Order Restoration Council doesn't acknowledge the election outcomes. July 10, 1991 - Wins the Sakharov human rights prize from the European Parliament. October 14, 1991 - Wins the Nobel Peace Prize “for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.” July 10, 1995 - Is launched from home arrest, however her political exercise is restricted. September 23, 2000 - Is once more positioned underneath home arrest. December 6, 2000 - US President Bill Clinton awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Suu Kyi in absentia. May 6, 2002 - Is launched from home arrest. May 30, 2003 - While touring in Myanmar, her motorcade is attacked by a pro-government mob and she or he is held by the army. Later, she is positioned underneath home arrest. November 29, 2004 - Learns her home arrest has been prolonged for one more 12 months. May 2006 - House arrest is prolonged for one more 12 months. June 9, 2006 - US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Sean McCormack tells reporters that Suu Kyi has been hospitalized for an undisclosed ailment. May 25, 2007 - The authorities extends her home arrest for one more 12 months. May 6, 2008 - US President George W. Bush indicators laws awarding a Congressional Gold Medal to Suu Kyi. May 27, 2008 - The authorities extends her home arrest for one more 12 months. May 14, 2009 - Suu Kyi is arrested and charged with violating the phrases of her home arrest. This is in response to an incident earlier within the month, when American John Yettaw swam uninvited to Suu Kyi’s lakeside home. If convicted she faces as much as 5 years in jail. May 18, 2009 - Suu Kyi’s trial on fees of presidency subversion begins.

August 11, 2009 - Suu Kyi is discovered responsible of violating the phrases of her home arrest and sentenced to 3 years in jail with exhausting labor. The sentence is diminished to 18 extra months of residence confinement. May 7, 2010 - The NLD refuses to register for the election, thereby disqualifying itself as a political social gathering, and formally dissolves. November 13, 2010 - Suu Kyi is launched from home arrest. She has spent 15 of the final 21 years underneath home arrest. November 15, 2010 - Speaking to reporters on the headquarters of the NLD, Suu Kyi pledges to maintain working towards restoring democracy and enhancing human rights in Myanmar. January 28, 2011 - Suu Kyi’s recorded message, by which she stresses the necessity for Myanmar to reestablish ties with the remainder of the world, is performed on the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. November 18, 2011 - Nyan Win, the spokesman for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, says that Suu Kyi will take part within the subsequent elections. The NLD introduced earlier within the day that it deliberate to re-register as a political social gathering and take part in all future parliamentary elections. December 13, 2011 - The NLD is granted permission to register for future elections in Myanmar. January 18, 2012 - Suu Kyi registers to run for a parliamentary seat. April 1, 2012 - Wins a seat in parliament in Myanmar’s first multiparty elections since 1990. May 2, 2012 - Along with 33 different newly elected members of her social gathering, Suu Kyi takes the oath of workplace for parliament, resolving an deadlock over the oath’s wording that had been stopping her from taking her seat within the legislature. May 29, 2012 - Makes historical past by stepping on international soil for the primary time in additional than 20 years when she arrives in Bangkok, Thailand. June 1, 2012 - Suu Kyi speaks on the World Economic Forum on East Asia. June 16, 2012 - Delivers her acceptance speech for her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, in Oslo, Norway. June 21, 2012 - Addresses both houses of the British parliament. September 19, 2012 - Suu Kyi accepts the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, DC. She later meets with US President Barack Obama. November 19, 2012 - Meets with Obama on the lakeside villa the place she spent years underneath home arrest. Obama praises Suu Kyi for her braveness and dedication throughout his go to to Myanmar, the primary go to by a sitting US president. March 10, 2013 - Wins reelection as opposition chief. October 22, 2013 - Suu Kyi accepts the 1990 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in Strasbourg, France, initially awarded to her in 1991. June 10, 2015 - During her first go to to China, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping. November 13, 2015 - Myanmar’s election fee declares that Suu Kyi’s NLD party has won a historic majority in the nation’s first freely held parliamentary elections. Suu Kyi just isn't in a position to turn into president due to a constitutional modification that prohibits anybody with international family from turning into the nation’s chief. April 5, 2016 - Suu Kyi is named state counselor, a role created especially for her. The put up permits her to keep in touch with ministries, departments, organizations, associations and people, and makes her accountable to parliament, in response to Myanmar’s state media. While Suu Kyi is barred from holding the workplace of president, the brand new place is broadly anticipated to permit her to rule by proxy. September 14, 2016 - Suu Kyi meets with Obama on the White House for the primary time since turning into the de facto chief of her nation. As Suu Kyi arrives, Obama points an announcement saying

he'll reinstate Myanmar to the Generalized System of Preferences, which can assist Myanmar with financial growth, exportation of products and job creation. April 5, 2017 - Speaking to the BBC, Suu Kyi denies that ethnic cleansing has taken place against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim ethnic minority, amid reports of human rights abuses in Rakhine. March 7, 2018 - The US Holocaust Museum announces it is rescinding the Elie Wiesel Award granted to Suu Kyi in 2012 due to her failure to intervene within the humanitarian disaster occurring in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. November 13, 2018 - Amnesty International declares their determination to revoke the Ambassador of Conscience Award from Suu Kyi, which she obtained from them in 2009. Suu Kyi has had a string of awards and accolades revoked amid the Rohingya crisis. December 2019 - Suu Kyi leads a legal team to the International Court of Justice within the Netherlands after the nation of Gambia filed a lawsuit on this planet court docket alleging that Myanmar dedicated “genocidal acts” that “were intended to destroy the [country’s persecuted] Rohingya as a group” by means of mass homicide, rape and destruction of communities. January 23, 2020 - The UN’s top court orders Myanmar to prevent acts of genocide towards the Rohingya and to cease destroying proof. November 13, 2020 - Suu Kyi’s NLD wins enough parliamentary seats to form the next government, in response to official outcomes of a normal election. February 1, 2021 - Myanmar’s military seizes power in a coup and declares a state of emergency after detaining Suu Kyi and different senior authorities leaders in early morning raids. March 1, 2021 - Suu Kyi seems in court docket by way of video convention the place she is charged with two more counts. One underneath Myanmar’s colonial-era penal code prohibiting publishing data which will “cause fear or alarm,” and one other underneath a telecommunications legislation stipulating licenses for gear, her lawyer stated in response to Reuters. This brings the full fees towards her to 4. In February, she was charged in relation to a nationwide catastrophe legislation and a rely underneath the nation’s import and export act. April 12, 2021 - Suu Kyi’s lawyer tells CNN that Suu Kyi is dealing with a sixth cost underneath the nation’s National Disaster Management Law. Earlier within the month Suu Kyi was charged with violating the official secrets act. April 16, 2021 - Opponents of the army junta announce the creation of an interim nationwide unity authorities, and identify Suu Kyi because the de facto chief. May 24, 2021 - Suu Kyi attends a court hearing, her first look in particular person for the reason that army seized energy on February 1. June 14, 2021 - Suu Kyi’s trial begins. The trial addresses three fees, together with that Suu Kyi, violated a communications legislation by allegedly importing and utilizing plenty of walkie-talkie radios, and violated coronavirus restrictions throughout election campaigning final 12 months. November 16, 2021 - Suu Kyi is charged with election fraud by Myanmar’s Union Election Commission. December 6, 2021 - Suu Kyi is sentenced to four years in prison on fees of incitement and breaking Covid-19 guidelines. Her sentence is later diminished to 2 years. January 10, 2022 - Suu Kyi is sentenced to another four years in prison. She was discovered responsible of a number of fees that embrace possession of unlicensed walkie-talkies, a supply with information of the court docket proceedings instructed CNN. April 27, 2022 - A court sentences Suu Kyi to five years in jail after discovering her responsible within the first of 11 corruption cases towards her, in response to a supply with information of proceedings. The case facilities on allegations that Suu Kyi accepted 11.

4 kg (402 oz) of gold and money funds totaling $600,000 from her protege-turned-accuser, former Yangon chief minister Phyo Min Thein. Suu Kyi has denied the costs and known as the allegations “absurd.” August 16, 2022 - State media reviews that Suu Kyi has been sentenced to six more years in prison after being convicted on 4 additional counts of corruption. The newest verdict within the collection of trials towards the Nobel laureate takes her whole jail time period to 17 years. September 2, 2022 - Is sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor on fees of electoral fraud. The newest verdict within the collection of trials towards the Nobel laureate takes her whole jail time period to twenty years. However, that is the primary time Suu Kyi has been sentenced to exhausting labor for the reason that nation’s most up-to-date army coup in 2021. She was given exhausting labor in a separate trial underneath a earlier administration in 2009 however that sentence was commuted. [ad_2] Source link

[otakitamura]

京都大学東南アジア地域研究研究所リサーチコモンズ <2020.7> Research commons in Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University

本プロジェクトは、京都大学東南アジア地域研究研究所の東棟改修に伴って多様な人材が日常的に意見交換や交流ができるオープンスペースとして設置されたリサーチコモンズのインテリアである。敷地内には、京都大学の歴史的建造物である旧京都織物会社本社が存在し、現在は図書館として東南アジアの貴重資料が収められている。この煉瓦造りの図書館に中庭を介して対面する位置にリサーチコモンズは配置された。我々は窓辺こそがこのオープンスペースにおいて最も重要であると考え、３つの窓を包括した木フレームを挿入し、テーブルや棚としての機能を充足させるだけでなく、光の振る舞いが感じられ豊かな環境を顕在化させる中間領域をつくり出した。また既存設備と平行に配置された木レールによって約60㎡の一室空間に奥行きをつくると共に、中庭の植栽を引き込むように設置した動く植栽ポットは心地のよい自由な学習・対話環境をつくり出している。

インテリアのディティールに着目し、重層的な時間を感じられる豊かな環境を、ほん��少しの操作で顕在化させる計画である。

作品データ 場所：京都府京都市左京区吉田 主用途：リサーチコモンズ 改修面積：68㎡  設計：O+KM(太田裕通,北村拓也) 施工：CORRED DESIGN OFFICE

[pmsocialmedia]

After restricting a group critical of Thailand’s monarchy, Facebook says it will take legal action against the government

After restricting access to a popular group with posts critical of Thailand’s monarchy, Facebook is planning legal action against the Thai government, which the social media giant says forced it to restrict content deemed to be illegal.

On Monday, Reuters reported access to Royalist Marketplace had been blocked within Thailand. Users there who try to visit the group, which has more than a million members, now see a message that says access to it has “been restricted within Thailand pursuant to a legal request from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.”

In a media statement emailed to TechCrunch, a Facebook spokesperson said, “After careful review, Facebook has determined that we are compelled to restrict access to content which the Thai government has deemed to be illegal. Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people’s ability to express themselves. We work to protect and defend the rights of all internet users and are preparing to legally challenge this request.”

The spokesperson added, “excessive government actions like this also undermine our ability to reliably invest in Thailand, including maintaining an office, safeguarding our employees, and directly supporting businesses that rely on Facebook.”

The group was started in April by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a dissident living in self-exile in Japan, where he is an associate professor of political science at Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Pavin told Reuters that Royalist Marketplace “is part of the democratization process, it is a space for freedom of expression. By doing this, Facebook is cooperating with the authoritarian regime to obstruct democracy and cultivating authoritarianism in Thailand.”

The geo-restriction of Royalist Marketplace comes as thousands of pro-democracy protestors in Bangkok demand reform of the monarchy, including abolition of a strict lese-majeste law that mandates prison sentences of up to 15 years for people who defame members of the monarchy.

Pavin has been openly critical of Thailand’s monarchy. In a piece published on the Council of Foreign Relation’s website earlier this month, Pavin wrote that “for several decades now, the supposedly constitutional monarchy of Thailand has often proven to extend its powers beyond constitutional norms and rules,” intervening in politics as the current king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, established closer ties with the military.

In a 2014 New York Times opinion piece, Pavin described having a warrant issued for his arrest by the military junta that overthrew the democratically elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014. He was also attacked by a intruder in his Kyoto apparent, which Pavin believes “was a warning for my continuing to hold, and express, my positions.”

The restriction of Thai users’ access to Royalist Marketplace took place three weeks after Thailand’s Minister of Digital Economy and Society, Puttipong Punnakanta, threatened to take action against Facebook because he said it did not comply quickly enough with the government’s requests to restrict content.

In 2016, Thailand enacted the Computer-Related Crime Act, which the Human Rights Watch warned “gives overly broad powers to the government to restrict free speech, enforce surveillance and censorship, and retaliate against activists.”

Facebook is also under scrutiny in India, its biggest market by number of users, after The Wall Street Journal reported that Ankhi Das, the company’s top public policy executive in India, had opposed applying the platform’s hate-speech rules to a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party.

Facebook faces heat in India after report on hate speech posts

via Social – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2Ywou9e

[un-enfant-immature]

After restricting a group critical of Thailand’s monarchy, Facebook says it will take legal action against the government

After restricting access to a popular group with posts critical of Thailand’s monarchy, Facebook is planning legal action against the Thai government, which the social media giant says forced it to restrict content deemed to be illegal.

On Monday, Reuters reported access to Royalist Marketplace had been blocked within Thailand. Users there who try to visit the group, which has over a million members, now see a message that says access to it has “been restricted within Thailand pursuant to a legal request from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.”

In a media statement emailed to TechCrunch, a Facebook spokesperson said, “After careful review, Facebook has determined that we are compelled to restrict access to content which the Thai government has deemed to be illegal. Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people’s ability to express themselves. We work to protect and defend the rights of all internet users and are preparing to legally challenge this request.”

The spokesperson added, “excessive government actions like this also undermine our ability to reliably invest in Thailand, including maintaining an office, safeguarding our employees, and directly supporting businesses that rely on Facebook.”

The group was started in April by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a dissident living in self-exile in Japan, where he is an associate professor of political science at Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Pavin told Reuters that Royalist Marketplace “is part of the democratization process, it is a space for freedom of expression. By doing this, Facebook is cooperating with the authoritarian regime to obstruct democracy and cultivating authoritarianism in Thailand.”

The geo-restriction of Royalist Marketplace comes as thousands of pro-democracy protestors in Bangkok demand reform of the monarchy, including abolition of a strict lese-majeste law that mandates prison sentences of up to 15 years for people who defame members of the monarchy.

Pavin has been openly critical of Thailand’s monarchy. In a piece published on the Council of Foreign Relation’s website earlier this month, Pavin wrote that “for several decades now, the supposedly constitutional monarchy of Thailand has often proven to extend its powers beyond constitutional norms and rules,” intervening in politics as the current king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, established closer ties with the military.

In a 2014 New York Times opinion piece, Pavin described having a warrant issued for his arrest by the military junta that overthrew the democratically elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014. He was also attacked by a intruder in his Kyoto apparent, which Pavin believes “was a warning for my continuing to hold, and express, my positions.”

The restriction of Thai users’ access to Royalist Marketplace took place three weeks after Thailand’s Minister of Digital Economy and Society, Puttipong Punnakanta, threatened to take action against Facebook because he said it did not comply quickly enough with the government’s requests to restrict content.

In 2016, Thailand enacted the Computer-Related Crime Act, which the Human Rights Watch warned “gives overly broad powers to the government to restrict free speech, enforce surveillance and censorship, and retaliate against activists.”

Facebook is also under scrutiny in India, its biggest market by number of users, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Ankhi Das, the company’s top public policy executive in India, had opposed applying the platform’s hate-speech rules to a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party.

Facebook faces heat in India after report on hate speech posts

[workfromhom]

After restricting a group critical of Thailand’s monarchy, Facebook says it will take legal action against the government

After restricting access to a popular group with posts critical of Thailand’s monarchy, Facebook is planning legal action against the Thai government, which the social media giant says forced it to restrict content deemed to be illegal.

On Monday, Reuters reported access to Royalist Marketplace had been blocked within Thailand. Users there who try to visit the group, which has over a million members, now see a message that says access to it has “been restricted within Thailand pursuant to a legal request from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.”

In a media statement emailed to TechCrunch, a Facebook spokesperson said, “After careful review, Facebook has determined that we are compelled to restrict access to content which the Thai government has deemed to be illegal. Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people’s ability to express themselves. We work to protect and defend the rights of all internet users and are preparing to legally challenge this request.”

The spokesperson added, “excessive government actions like this also undermine our ability to reliably invest in Thailand, including maintaining an office, safeguarding our employees, and directly supporting businesses that rely on Facebook.”

The group was started in April by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a dissident living in self-exile in Japan, where he is an associate professor of political science at Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Pavin told Reuters that Royalist Marketplace “is part of the democratization process, it is a space for freedom of expression. By doing this, Facebook is cooperating with the authoritarian regime to obstruct democracy and cultivating authoritarianism in Thailand.”

The geo-restriction of Royalist Marketplace comes as thousands of pro-democracy protestors in Bangkok demand reform of the monarchy, including abolition of a strict lese-majeste law that mandates prison sentences of up to 15 years for people who defame members of the monarchy.

Pavin has been openly critical of Thailand’s monarchy. In a piece published on the Council of Foreign Relation’s website earlier this month, Pavin wrote that “for several decades now, the supposedly constitutional monarchy of Thailand has often proven to extend its powers beyond constitutional norms and rules,” intervening in politics as the current king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, established closer ties with the military.

In a 2014 New York Times opinion piece, Pavin described having a warrant issued for his arrest by the military junta that overthrew the democratically elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014. He was also attacked by a intruder in his Kyoto apparent, which Pavin believes “was a warning for my continuing to hold, and express, my positions.”

The restriction of Thai users’ access to Royalist Marketplace took place three weeks after Thailand’s Minister of Digital Economy and Society, Puttipong Punnakanta, threatened to take action against Facebook because he said it did not comply quickly enough with the government’s requests to restrict content.

In 2016, Thailand enacted the Computer-Related Crime Act, which the Human Rights Watch warned “gives overly broad powers to the government to restrict free speech, enforce surveillance and censorship, and retaliate against activists.”

Facebook is also under scrutiny in India, its biggest market by number of users, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Ankhi Das, the company’s top public policy executive in India, had opposed applying the platform’s hate-speech rules to a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party.

Facebook faces heat in India after report on hate speech posts

from Facebook – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2Ywou9e via IFTTT

[southeastasianists]

How is the new monarch of Thailand, Maha Vajiralongkorn, ruling his kingdom since the death of his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej?

Fear.

The overwhelming success of Bhumibol’s reign has evidently become an entrapment for Vajiralongkorn, who has failed to follow in the footsteps of his much-revered father. Vajiralongkorn is the mirror image of Bhumibol. Based on this assessment, some analysts have expected Vajiralongkorn to be a ‘weak king’, precisely because of his lack of moral authority, divinity and popularity once enjoyed by Bhumibol.

Bhumibol’s moral authority was made a sacred instrument that underpinned his effective reign for seven decades. It legitimised his political position, so as to place it above what were perceived to be ill elements, including ‘dirty’ politics and ‘corrupt’ politicians. Members of the network monarchy had worked indefatigably to ensure the strengthening of his moral authority, through vigorous glorification programs in the media and national education, about the devoted king who strove for his people’s better livelihood. It was his moral authority which was partly exploited to justify the use of the lese-majeste law.

Now that Bhumibol has passed from the scene, a critical question emerges: how has Vajiralongkorn forged new alliances and eliminated enemies and critics in order to consolidate his reign?

Without his own charisma, or baramee, Vajiralongkorn has exercised fear to command those serving him instead of trusting or convincing them to work for him based on love and respect, as argued by a recent article of Claudio Sopranzetti. Vajiralongkorn has used fear to build order, perhaps similar to the way in which mafias, or chaophos, operate their empire.

Vajiralongkorn reigns as a monarch whose authority is based upon fear, and as one who cares little about people around him. Fear is a tool to threaten his subordinates and drive them to the edge to keep them compliant and docile. He has kept his subordinates in line with unnecessary, yet rigid, rules, from professing a cropped haircut style to a tough fitness regime. But such rules possibly reflect Vajiralongkorn’s own state of fear. He does not know who will betray him at the end of the day. His intimidating image is his only source of personal power — but he also realises how fragile it could be.

Even prior to the death of Bhumibol, Vajiralongkorn relied on fear for his own rearrangement of power. He allowed a faction under his control to purge another perceived to be disloyal to him. The cases of Suriyan Sucharitpolwong, or Moh Yong, Police Major Prakrom Warunprapha, and Major General Phisitsak Seniwongse na Ayutthaya — all of whom worked for Vajiralongkorn, most visibly in the ‘Bike for Mum’ project —   reiterated that death could become a reward for those who breached his trust. Each of these individuals were given a nickname. For example, Phisitsak was called by Vajiralongkorn, Mister Heng Rayah (เฮง ระย้า), although exactly why he was named as such remained unknown.

Within Vajiralongkorn’s palace, Dhaveevatthana, a prison was built. The Ministry of Justice, during the Yingluck administration, announced on 27 March 2013 that a 60 square metre plot of land within Dhaveevathana was allocated for the building of what is now called the Bhudha Monthon Temporary Prison. This ‘temporary’ prison has been legalised, potentially allowing the king to detain anyone under its roof legally. Adjacent to the prison is a crematorium. Major General Phisitsak died inside the prison and was cremated there too.

His former consort, Srirasmi, has been put under house arrest in a Rachaburi house, shaved and dressed as a nun. Her family members and relatives were imprisoned on dubious charges. Pongpat Chayaphan, a former Royal Thai Police officer who was the head of the country’s Central Investigation Bureau, was convicted in 2015 from profiting from a gambling den, violating a forestry-related law, and money laundering. Srirasmi is his niece. Earlier in 2014, Police General Akrawut Limrat, a close aide to Pongpat, was also found dead following a mysterious fall from a building.

Vajiralongkorn’s estranged sons, Juthavachara, Vacharaesorn, Chakriwat and Vatcharawee — who live in exile in the United States with their mother Sujarinee Vivachawonsge, née Yuvathida Polpraserth — have been banned from coming home. These extreme punitive measures reiterated the fact that fear once again functions as a controlling device over his subjects, even those with royal blood.

Vajiralongkorn also reorganised the Privy Council, appointing new faces from the Queen’s Guard, to entrench his alliance with the junta. He has also let General Prem Tinsulanonda remain in his position of President of the Privy Council, arguably, as part of using fear to keep his enemy close to him, so that Prem could be closely monitored and work under his direct command. And recently, he punished one of his close confidants, Police General Jumpol Manmai, a former deputy national police chief, labelling him as the extremely evil official so as to justify the humiliation caused to him. Jumpol was arrested and imprisoned. His head was shaved, like Moh Yong and Prakrom, and was sent to undergo a military training within the Dhaweevattana Palace. Like Pongpat, he was found guilty of forest encroachment.

Meanwhile, some have been promoted, some demoted. Speedy promotions in the military and the police were enjoyed by the king’s new favourites. Those irritating him were thrown out — but before that, they were humiliated on the pages of the newspapers. Vajiralongkorn purged the entire Vajarodaya clan, one of the most prominent families of palace officials serving under Bhumibol. Disathorn Vajarodaya was stripped of his power in the palace, forced to re-enter a military training at the age of 53, and is now working as a house maid who serves drinks to guests of the new king. Meanwhile, Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayutthaya, a former Thai Airways air crew, was promoted to the rank of a general. She is currently the number one mistress of Vajiralongkorn. But the life of Suthida is not without competition. Colonel Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi, aka Koi, who is a nurse, is reportedly becoming his number one favourite. A video clip of Vajiralongkorn and Koi, both wearing skimpy crop tops barely covering fake tattoo wandering a Munich mall, was viral on the Internet.

In the political domain, Vajiralongkorn directly meddled in the drafting of the new constitution, requesting an amendment to boost royal powers. The changes included removing the need for him to appoint a regent when he travels overseas. More importantly, a clause that gave power to the constitutional court and other institutions in the event of an unforeseen crisis was removed. But by removing it, the king’s political role was significantly reinforced.

Because of his direct interference in Thai political affairs, it is naïve to assume that Vajiralongkorn is simply a mad king, clueless about running his kingdom. His meddling has unveiled his desire to solidify his power at this critical juncture in politics, forging ties with his allies while deposing his enemies and critics through brutal means.

Fear — for one’s own freedom, or one’s own personal safety — is a key weapon of Vajiralongkorn’s in keeping elites around him in line, alongside the longstanding use of the lese-majeste law to curb public discontentment against him. For instance, the military government chose to punish Jatupat ‘Phai’ Boonpattararaksa for sharing a BBC article on the biography of Vajiralongkorn, underscoring the use of fear to warn the public to stay away from his private life. Jatupat is the only person to be imprisoned for sharing the article.

On the eve of the recent Songkran holidays, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society released an announcement to forbid the public from following, befriending and sharing content of three critics of the monarchy: myself, the exiled historian Somsak Jeamteerasakul, and former reporter Andrew MacGregor Marshall. Fear has now been ulitised at a national level, in cyberspace, to frighten ordinary social media users. In failing to obey the royal prerogatives, some could be jailed, like Jatupat.

But fear can fall away. Overused and frequently exploited, fear will eventually loose its spell. Exactly how long Vajiralongkorn will continue to count on fear to build up his power remains uncertain. What is certain today is the fact that Thailand is no longer a smiling country. It is a country in deep anxiety.

Pavin Chachavalpongpun is associate professor at Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

[southeastasianarchaeology]

[Job] Digital Heritage Manager, Maritime Asia Heritage Survey

Job opportunity with the Maritime Asia Heritage Survey project. Closing date is 21 May 2023.

Job opportunity with the Maritime Asia Heritage Survey project. Closing date is 21 May 2023. The Maritime Asia Heritage Survey (MAHS) is recruiting a Digital Heritage Manager with extensive experience creating and managing digital heritage assets to join the Project’s core leadership team. Duties include managing digital heritage data collected by our in-country field survey teams, processing and…

[sheminecrafts]

After restricting a group critical of Thailand’s monarchy, Facebook says it will take legal action against the government

After restricting access to a popular group with posts critical of Thailand’s monarchy, Facebook is planning legal action against the Thai government, which the social media giant says forced it to restrict content deemed to be illegal.

On Monday, Reuters reported access to Royalist Marketplace had been blocked within Thailand. Users there who try to visit the group, which has more than a million members, now see a message that says access to it has “been restricted within Thailand pursuant to a legal request from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.”

In a media statement emailed to TechCrunch, a Facebook spokesperson said, “After careful review, Facebook has determined that we are compelled to restrict access to content which the Thai government has deemed to be illegal. Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people’s ability to express themselves. We work to protect and defend the rights of all internet users and are preparing to legally challenge this request.”

The spokesperson added, “excessive government actions like this also undermine our ability to reliably invest in Thailand, including maintaining an office, safeguarding our employees, and directly supporting businesses that rely on Facebook.”

The group was started in April by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a dissident living in self-exile in Japan, where he is an associate professor of political science at Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Pavin told Reuters that Royalist Marketplace “is part of the democratization process, it is a space for freedom of expression. By doing this, Facebook is cooperating with the authoritarian regime to obstruct democracy and cultivating authoritarianism in Thailand.”

The geo-restriction of Royalist Marketplace comes as thousands of pro-democracy protestors in Bangkok demand reform of the monarchy, including abolition of a strict lese-majeste law that mandates prison sentences of up to 15 years for people who defame members of the monarchy.

Pavin has been openly critical of Thailand’s monarchy. In a piece published on the Council of Foreign Relation’s website earlier this month, Pavin wrote that “for several decades now, the supposedly constitutional monarchy of Thailand has often proven to extend its powers beyond constitutional norms and rules,” intervening in politics as the current king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, established closer ties with the military.

In a 2014 New York Times opinion piece, Pavin described having a warrant issued for his arrest by the military junta that overthrew the democratically elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014. He was also attacked by a intruder in his Kyoto apparent, which Pavin believes “was a warning for my continuing to hold, and express, my positions.”

The restriction of Thai users’ access to Royalist Marketplace took place three weeks after Thailand’s Minister of Digital Economy and Society, Puttipong Punnakanta, threatened to take action against Facebook because he said it did not comply quickly enough with the government’s requests to restrict content.

In 2016, Thailand enacted the Computer-Related Crime Act, which the Human Rights Watch warned “gives overly broad powers to the government to restrict free speech, enforce surveillance and censorship, and retaliate against activists.”

Facebook is also under scrutiny in India, its biggest market by number of users, after The Wall Street Journal reported that Ankhi Das, the company’s top public policy executive in India, had opposed applying the platform’s hate-speech rules to a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party.

Facebook faces heat in India after report on hate speech posts

from iraidajzsmmwtv https://ift.tt/32nlrRT via IFTTT

[technicalsolutions88]

After restricting access to a popular group with posts critical of Thailand’s monarchy, Facebook is planning legal action against the Thai government, which the social media giant says forced it to restrict content deemed to be illegal.

On Monday, Reuters reported access to Royalist Marketplace had been blocked within Thailand. Users there who try to visit the group, which has more than a million members, now see a message that says access to it has “been restricted within Thailand pursuant to a legal request from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.”

In a media statement emailed to TechCrunch, a Facebook spokesperson said, “After careful review, Facebook has determined that we are compelled to restrict access to content which the Thai government has deemed to be illegal. Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people’s ability to express themselves. We work to protect and defend the rights of all internet users and are preparing to legally challenge this request.”

The spokesperson added, “excessive government actions like this also undermine our ability to reliably invest in Thailand, including maintaining an office, safeguarding our employees, and directly supporting businesses that rely on Facebook.”

The group was started in April by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a dissident living in self-exile in Japan, where he is an associate professor of political science at Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Pavin told Reuters that Royalist Marketplace “is part of the democratization process, it is a space for freedom of expression. By doing this, Facebook is cooperating with the authoritarian regime to obstruct democracy and cultivating authoritarianism in Thailand.”

The geo-restriction of Royalist Marketplace comes as thousands of pro-democracy protestors in Bangkok demand reform of the monarchy, including abolition of a strict lese-majeste law that mandates prison sentences of up to 15 years for people who defame members of the monarchy.

Pavin has been openly critical of Thailand’s monarchy. In a piece published on the Council of Foreign Relation’s website earlier this month, Pavin wrote that “for several decades now, the supposedly constitutional monarchy of Thailand has often proven to extend its powers beyond constitutional norms and rules,” intervening in politics as the current king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, established closer ties with the military.

In a 2014 New York Times opinion piece, Pavin described having a warrant issued for his arrest by the military junta that overthrew the democratically elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014. He was also attacked by a intruder in his Kyoto apparent, which Pavin believes “was a warning for my continuing to hold, and express, my positions.”

The restriction of Thai users’ access to Royalist Marketplace took place three weeks after Thailand’s Minister of Digital Economy and Society, Puttipong Punnakanta, threatened to take action against Facebook because he said it did not comply quickly enough with the government’s requests to restrict content.

In 2016, Thailand enacted the Computer-Related Crime Act, which the Human Rights Watch warned “gives overly broad powers to the government to restrict free speech, enforce surveillance and censorship, and retaliate against activists.”

Facebook is also under scrutiny in India, its biggest market by number of users, after The Wall Street Journal reported that Ankhi Das, the company’s top public policy executive in India, had opposed applying the platform’s hate-speech rules to a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party.

Facebook faces heat in India after report on hate speech posts

from Social – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2Ywou9e Original Content From: https://techcrunch.com

[itsfinancethings]

For years, Thailand’s powerful monarchy has been the untouchable third rail of the country’s politics.

A strict lèse-majesté law ostensibly insulates the royal institution from defamation, but in practice stifles discussion of the wealthy sovereign with the threat of up to 15 years in prison. This summer, that deterrent failed.

Grievances once limited to hushed conversations have exploded into the open as a new generation of Thai activists publicly airs frustrations with the existing system of governance — including their ruler’s role in it.

“We dream of a monarchy that coexists with democracy,” Anon Nampa, a human rights lawyer and prominent activist reportedly told crowds on Aug. 16 in Bangkok. In one of the kingdom’s largest demonstrations since the 2014 coup, more than 10,000 people converged around the Democracy Monument built to commemorate the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.

“We must achieve this within our generation,” Anon said to cheers.

‘They believe Thailand needs genuine democracy’

Student-led groups have staged near daily protests across the country since last month, calling for parliament to dissolve, for the military-drafted constitution to be rewritten and for an end to the harassment of activists. They’ve given the government a September deadline to meet their demands, or else say they will fan the protest flames — no small threat in a country that has been hounded by chronic upheaval and putsches.

Read more: Thailand: Coups That Helped Shape the Land of Coups

Partly inspired by the decentralized Hong Kong demonstrations last year, Thailand’s students say they are leaderless, relying on social media to organize.

The movement, which has traversed the country, has brought motley cliques together, from LGBTQ activists to environmentalists to Malay Muslim separatists from the south.

“This is a very mixed group,” says Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher on Thailand at Human Rights Watch. “But when you dig into what motivates all these different voices, the bottom line is that they believe Thailand needs genuine democracy.”

For some, this line of inquiry means questioning Thailand’s monarchical traditions.

LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA—AFP/Getty Images Protesters call for the dissolution of the military-backed government during a flash mob in Bangkok, Thailand on Aug. 8, 2020.

“In the past, there have been statements fooling us by saying that people born into the royal family are incarnations of gods and angels,” student activist Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul reportedly said from the stage at an Aug. 10 rally at Thammasat University. “With all due respect, please ask yourselves, are you sure that angels or gods have this kind of personality?”

She read out a 10-point manifesto urging reforms to the royal institution, including revoking the draconian lèse-majesté law, trimming the monarchy’s budget and banning the palace from politics.

“Frustrated by a charade democracy and a military-dominated government endorsed by the monarchy, these protesters have become dangerously bold, risking the strict lèse-majesté laws to make their voices heard,” says Paul Chambers a special adviser on international affairs at the Center of ASEAN Community Studies at Thailand’s Naresuan University.

Still, even those testing the limits of the taboo-laden traditions have taken pains to emphasize they are not trying to dismantle the monarchy. A student group said in a statement that the manifesto aims only to allow the king “to continue to be esteemed by the people within a democracy.”

The king

Thailand’s current sovereign, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, spends much of the year overseas, flying back for the occasional trip like attending his mother’s birthday last week. He arrived on Wednesday and departed Thursday, according to the New York Times.

Since ascending the throne in 2016, following the death of his widely revered father, Vajiralongkorn has consolidated financial and military control. With changes to the constitution, he made it easier to rule from abroad, brought two important army regiments under his command and gained direct oversight over royal assets. The Crown Property Bureau, a vast real estate and investments portfolio, was previously managed by state agencies. While its estimated worth is not made public, its property holdings in the Thai capital alone were valued at $33 billion, according to a semi-official 2011 biography on Vajiralongkorn’s father.

Read more: King Maha Vajiralongkorn

The 68-year-old king cuts a stark contrast with the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was the world’s longest-reigning monarch when he died at the age of 88. Thought to be unpopular as a crown prince and embroiled in several scandals, Vajiralongkorn’s private life has served as fodder for international tabloids, including his affairs, disowning of children and, according to leaked diplomatic cables, the promotion of his adored miniature poodle Foo-Foo to the rank of Air Chief Marshal.

Photo by Anusak Laowilas/NurPhoto via Getty Images Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn presides over the annual royal ploughing ceremony at the Sanam Luang park in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 9, 2019.

Ahead of his official coronation and just months after marrying his fourth wife, Queen Suthida, he appointed his mistress a royal consort. (He later stripped her of her rank and titles, accusing the 34-year-old of trying to elevate herself above the queen.)

The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t helped his image. As the king flies in and out, Thailand’s lockdown has exacerbated already deep inequality and bled the tourism-dependent economy dry. Millions are now jobless while the Southeast Asia nation this week reported its worst economic contraction since the 1998 Asian financial crisis.

“I think [COVID-19] and the economic downturn added up a sense of frustration among the protesters. But I think it has more to do with how King Vajiralongkorn has behaved himself,” says Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a self-exiled Thai academic who teaches at Kyoto University. “They see him as irresponsible, and at times intervening in politics.”

While the palace is widely seen as floating above the country’s turbulent political sphere, it has often played an important role as referee. Since 1932, Thailand has experienced a dozen successful coups, with the palace formally approving each takeover. Last year, Vajiralongkorn endorsed junta leader turned prime minister Prayut Chan-ocha‘s cabinet.

The prime minister

Prayut has promised to restore stability after several years of upheaval. But many young people see his administration as failing to revive democracy, and instead enabling the generals to stay in power long after the 2014 coup.

After the 2019 election was dogged by allegations of irregularities, the court dissolved an opposition party that proved popular among young, progressive voters. Feeling thwarted at the ballot box, protesters demanding a say in the country’s future stormed the streets in February. But their momentum was temporarily sapped by COVID-19 restrictions.

Activists say Prayut’s rule has been marked by escalating repression. Since the coup six years ago, legislation like the computer crimes act and the lèse-majesté law has been used to imprison critics. Activists have also been physically attacked by unidentified assailants, while at least nine dissidents who fled overseas have vanished by Human Rights Watch’s count. Two later washed up on a riverbank, their stomachs filled with concrete.

Read more: Thailand’s Leader Promised to Restore Democracy. Instead He’s Tightening His Grip

In a televised address on Aug. 13, Prayut insisted the government has been restrained in handling this summer’s unrest. He called on all citizens “to please say no to the politics of hate and division.”

Previously, he warned that the protesters “went too far” when they broached the topic of the monarchy. But his comments did not stop them.

The increasingly popular Twitter hashtag “WhyDoWeNeedAKing” was projected onto the Democracy Monument Sunday, while photos of the event captured signs that said “we need real democracy” and “Stop pretending that this is still a constitutional monarchy.”

Lauren DeCicca—Getty Images Protesters give a three-finger salute at a rally at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok, Thailand on Aug. 16, 2020.

Fears of a crackdown

Not everyone embraces the more incendiary turn of targeting the monarchy. Some worry the move could jeopardize their wider, pro-democracy goals.

Previous Thai protests have been crushed with force leaving dozens dead, including students. Some observers fear history will repeat itself. Thailand’s powerful army chief General Apirat Kongsompong railed against “nation-haters,” in a speech earlier this month.

“The [corona]virus can be cured, but what is incurable is the nation-hater disease,” he reportedly said. “Those who hate their own country are not recoverable because they keep mocking their own country.”

Three prominent protesters have been arrested and released on bail over their involvement in the recent rallies. Two of them, lawyer Anon and student activist Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, also face lèse-majesté complaints. Police issued fresh arrest warrants for six protesters Wednesday, including Anon and Panusaya. They will be charged with “sedition, computer crimes act, violating the diseases control act and using loudspeakers”, Pathum Thani provincial police commander Chayut Marayat told Agence France-Presse.

Experts say while authorities appear to be going after figureheads in the hopes that the rest of the movement will taper off organically, the strategy risks backfiring. So far, it has only fueled further defiance.

“To threaten students is to declare war on the future,” Parit wrote on Twitter Aug. 17, three days after he was arrested on sedition charges. “Stop harassing students now if you don’t want things to escalate.”

[otakitamura]

【作品動画】京都大学東南アジア地域研究研究所リサーチコモンズ  Research commons in Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University <2020.7> 

[sagunpaudel]

2018 Postdoctoral fellowship : Japan-ASEAN Platform for Transdisciplinary Studies

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) at Kyoto University, Japan, invites applications for a two-year CSEAS Postdoctoral Fellowship under its program “Japan-ASEAN Platform for Transdisciplinary Studies.”

Southeast Asia, through its regional inter-governmental institution of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), has emerged as a hub for Asian community-building. The highly…

[wiqi4love]

CSEAS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Worldwide Students in Japan, 2018

CSEAS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Worldwide Students in Japan, 2018

­The new Postdoctoral Fellowship: Japan-ASEAN Platform for Transdisciplinary Studies under its program “Japan-ASEAN Platform for Transdisciplinary Studies” at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) at Kyoto University, Japan.

Under this six-year program funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), we aim to establish several sub-projects…