On April 25, 2025, a delegation from the Institute for International and Area Studies (IIAS) at Tsinghua University visited Kyoto University. The two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and held a joint academic seminar.

At 10:00 a.m. on the 25th, the MoU signing ceremony took place in the Inamori Center at Kyoto University. The signing parties were IIAS and Kyoto University's Institute for Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). Professor Yasuyuki Kono, Vice President for International Strategy at Kyoto University, delivered the opening address first, reviewing the collaborative history between ISEAS and IIAS. Professor Fumiharu Mieno of ISEAS introduced the basic overview of the institute, while Dr. Zhou Yan, Associate Director of IIAS, presented an introduction to IIAS. The two sides then signed the MoU.

Professor Satoru Kobayashi, Associate Professor Decha Tangseefa, Associate Professor Zhai Yalei from ISEAS, as well as Assistant Researcher Li Yuqing and Postdoctoral Researcher Guan Hao from IIAS, attended the signing ceremony.

Following the signing, the IIRS delegation toured the ISEAS library and participated in an academic lecture hosted by ISEAS.

At 2:00 p.m. on the 25th, a joint academic seminar between ISEAS and IIAS was held. Professor Fumiharu Mieno delivered a speech at the seminar. Moderated by Associate Professor Zhai Yalei, Dr. Tomohiro Machikita and Professor Satoru Kobayashi from Kyoto University, along with Dr. Li Yuqing and Dr. Guan Hao from Tsinghua University, shared their research achievements. Dr. Zhou Yan and Professor Decha Tangseefa provided comments on the presentations. The conference concluded with a closing address by Dr. Zhou Yan.