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The high demand for industry workers in Japan, and on the other hand, the surplus labor economy currently being experienced Indonesia, has been the catalyst for the phenomenal increase in overseas migrant workers coming to Japan. Indonesian migrant workers generally fill the labor market niches where they do not compete with Japanese workers. Revised Japanese Immigration law of 1990, however, only allows the entry of foreigner's employment in high skill jobs, with the exception of foreign trainees who mostly engage in unskilled jobs. Consequently, there are many foreign illegal workers, including those coming from Indonesia. This fact, clearly contribute to many problems, both in terms of immigration and to human rights issues. The human rights issues, even faced not only by those working illegally but also those trainee with actually protected by Japanese labor law.

The seminar will briefly discuss the result study of current situation of Indonesian migrant workers in Japan (which based on finding from various cases studied) and problem faced by them.

CSEAS, in collaboration with United Nations University and Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), will organize an International Symposium on Alternative Approaches to Enhancing Small-Scale Livelihoods and Natural Resources Management in Marginal Areas -Experience in Monsoon Asia- on 29-30 October, 2003 at United Nations University in Tokyo.

You can see the detail of the symposium at the following URL
http://www.unu.edu/env/plec/events/marginal-areas-conceptnote.html (in English)
http://www.unu.edu/hq/japanese/PLEC/index2003.html (in Japanese)
You are cordially invited to join us.

The Integrated Pest Management program produced a significant change in the farming culture in Indonesia where it was introduced in 1990s. The program aimed to shift the farmers' paradigm in growing food crops 'with pesticides' into growing a 'healthy crop' on the basis of an agro-ecosystem analysis. Not only a prominent change in knowledge and strategies has occurred among the IPM farmers, but also farmers' empowerment in decision-making and self-governance. "Farmers` Science" (Sains Petani) has been developed elsewhere on the basis of their needs and problems. Even though the formation of an `IPM culture` among various farming communities is still underway, there is an indication of an evolutionary change within farmers` knowledge and practices. On the other hand, some internal and external constraints affected farmers` efforts in implementing and disseminating the new farming knowledge and strategies.

The introduction of the similar program in Asian countries, including Cambodia and Vietnam in 1990s also leads to a similar result, e.g. enhancing farmers` knowledge and improving farming practices. However, different countries, agricultural conditions, policies, and cultures-to some extents-may lead to differences in the ways the program was implemented, or on the advancement the farmers experienced. My paper will examine the extent to which similarities and differences occur among rice farmers in Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam after learning IPM; what the contextual factors contributing to such similarities and differences are; and to what extent an evolutionary change does occur within farmers` knowledge and practices. A discussion of the comparative method and conceptual tools that could enrich the human ecological research and analysis in Southeast Asian region will also be presented.

伝統農耕は環境を破壊する側面と保全する側面を併せもっている。そもそも畑を開く際には一次植生を切り開く必要があり、人間が農耕に依存して生活することによる森林の減少は不可避的なものであるといえよう。一方、耕作中の畑に地力回復を目的とした植林を行う、あるいは肥料として鋤き込むための特定の植物を畑の周りに植えるという行動は積極的な環境保全行動であるということもできる。植えられる植物は人々が何らかの意図をもって選択したものであり、地域生態系には人々にとって有用な植物の生息密度が上昇することになる。このような伝統農耕と自然環境の具体的なかかわりを解明することを目的としてパプアニューギニア高地タリ盆地においてフィールドワークをおこなった。タリ盆地ではサツマイモの生育に適した土壌水分量を実現するために排水溝を掘り巡らし、植え付けのためにマウンドをつくり、土壌の肥沃度を維持するために積極的な植林と緑肥の鋤き込みを行う集約的なサツマイモの耕作が行われてきた。しかしながら、近年では急激な人口増加、天然資源の発見、人口移動によって、盆地の一部では休耕期間の短縮と土地生産性の劣化がすすみ、食料生産を中心とした生存システムが変容を余儀なくされている。発表では、この動態を具体的なデータを示しながら紹介する予定である。

Since the fall of President Soeharto in 1998, the Indonesian military has started its internal reform. They introduced the so-called new paradigm, which among other things, the military would withdraw from day to day politics and their principles of dual functions. However, five years after, it seems that the Indonesian military is still a political army who does not want to accept civilian supremacy upon the military. For example, the chief commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces does not want to be under the civilian minister of defense, the military head quarter in Cilangkap is also still independent from the Department of Defense.

Although there will be no military representatives in the central and local parliaments and also in the government bureaucracies in 2004, except in the government institutions related to defense affairs (such as Defense Ministry and State Coordinating Ministry for Social and Political Affairs), it is a fact that active and retired military officers still maintain their influences in politics. In some cases the military are still able to push the government on policies related to security matters, such as the government policy on the conflict areas in Aceh, Papua and Maluku.

Apart from that the military has not reformed its institution, doctrines and their culture and behavior.

There are some impediments to internal military reform, either from external environment or from internal the military.

The seminar will exchange of ideas on what is the purpose of military reform in Indonesia and why it has been difficult to be materialized.