The construction of transnational families in Japan and Southeast Asia, Gender and Anthropology, Reconceptualizations of care in ageing societies (Europe and Asia-Pacfic, and the role of religion in supporting immigrant workers overseas), Sustainability Indicators for Monsoon Asia
Overview of the research
At present, my main research focus has been on the increasing transnational flow of nurses and care workers within the Asia Pacific region. In particular, I have been working on a comparative project comparing regional nursing systems as part of an effort to provide a policy response to reformulating the Japanese government's current mechanism for accepting nurses and care givers from Southeast Asia. This funded through a MEXT grant-in-aid.
Current research expects to offer policy suggestions on managing care-workers and nurses accepted from the Philippines, Indonesia and potentially, Vietnam. In order to provide examples for creating a more flexible inter-regional “win-win” scheme in managing the flows of skilled labor, I have looked beyond the Asia-pacific region to focus on Europe's infrastructure for circulating skilled migrant labor on three levels. 1. On countries which are E.U. members and allow for the free movement of labor. 2. On countries which are in the E.U. but place restrictions depending on the political and market needs for skilled labor. 3. On countries which are outside of the E.U. but free to accept and send skilled labor both within the region and accept from outside of it.
Based on observations of the regulatory mechanisms in place in the E.U., along with other research members, I hope to provide specific suggestions for the consideration of an ASEAN + Japan mechanism; one that can flexibly respond to the labor market's needs for highly skilled clinical labor that is attuned to the current political and social conditions of Japan and the sending and receiving nations.
My other research is part of a team project to develop a Humanosphere Potentiality Index (HPI). This is an index, created by a team of researchers across a number of Japanese universities, addresses the present and future welfare of human societies within a broader context of environmental sustainability and is done through a comparison with other development indexes. The HPI re-considers sustainable society from the viewpoint of interdisciplinary Area Studies and aims to provide a new paradigm on development.
Research Areas
Humanities & social sciences, Cultural anthropology and folklore
Papers
Conclusion: Toward a research-based praxis on southeast asia’s ecosystems
Mario Ivan Lopez; Jafar Suryomenggolo
Asia in Transition, 2018
Superando las brechas disciplinarias: cinco décadas de investigación japonesa en el Sudeste Asiático
Mario López; Kono Yasuyuki; Nathan Badenoch
Japan-ASEAN Transdisciplinary Studies Working Paper Seris, Mar. 2022, Invited, Lead author
The Case of Japan: How COVID-19 Impacted the Procurement and Lives of Migrant Healthcare Workers
Mario Ivan López and Shun Ohno
The International Journal of Social Quality, 01 Dec. 2021, Peer-reviewed
Evolving Historical Trends in Collaborative Interdisciplinary Research at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS)
Mario Lopez; Fujieda Ayako
CESAS NEWSLETTER, Mar. 2021, Invited, Lead author
Increasingly Diversified "Care Migration" - A focus on Work and Attitudes under the Coronavirus Pandemic
Ohno Shun; Mario Lopez
Centre for Asia Pacific Partnership report, Mar. 2021, Invited, Corresponding author
Bridging the Disciplinary Divide: 50 years of Research at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Kono Yasuyuki; Nathan Badenoch; Mario Ivan Lopez
Japan-ASEAN Transdisciplinary Studies Working Paper Series No. 8, Aug. 2019, Peer-reviewed, Invited
International Journal of Social Quality, 2016, Peer-reviewed
Visualizing Southeast Asia: The Visual Documentary Project
LOPEZ Mario
Newsletter, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Mar. 2015, Peer-reviewed
Acceptance of Migrant Nurses in Germany: Examining the "Triple Win Project"
Mario Ivan Lopez; Ohno Shun
Psyche & Culture, 2015, Peer-reviewed
Review of Born Out of Place: Migrant Mothers and the Politics of International Labor, Nicole Constable Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2014, xvii.+259p.
LOPEZ Mario
Southeast Asian Studies (SEAS), 2015, Peer-reviewed
Rethinking democratic practices in Southeast Asia: Corruption and political Scandals in the early 21st century
Mario Lopez; Jafar Suryomenggolo
Asian Politics and Policy, 28 Oct. 2014, Peer-reviewed
Transnational Catholicism and Religious Intimacy in Filipino Migrants’ Lives
LOPEZ Mario
GCOE Working Paper Series Next Generation Research, Apr. 2013, Invited
Filipino Religiosity in Japanese Hinterlands: Appraising Catholicism in the lives of Filipina residents in Japan,
LOPEZ Mario
Re-assessing Ritual in Southeast Asia in Proceedings of Re-assessing Ritual in Southeast Asia, Apr. 2013, Invited
Collaborative Research in Southeast Asia: towards a sustainable humanosphere,” International Institute of Asian Studies (IIAS) Newsletter, pp. 23-34.
Mario Lopez; Guest Edito
Dec. 2012
Reconstituting the affective labour of Filipinos as care workers in Japan
Mario Lopez
GLOBAL NETWORKS-A JOURNAL OF TRANSNATIONAL AFFAIRS, Apr. 2012, Peer-reviewed
Progressive Entanglements: Religious Intimacy in Japanese-Filipino Marriages.
Clandestine Missionaries? Evangelizing Encounters in International Marriages within the Intimate Sphere and Beyond
LOPEZ Mario
Proceedings of 1st Next-Generation Global Workshop, Reconstruction of the Intimate and Public Spheres: Kyoto University Global COE program for Reconstruction of the Intimate and Public Sphere in 21st Century Asia, Apr. 2009, Invited
Reality Bytes: Hybrid Inter-faces, Hybrid Selves
Mario Lopez
Acta Orientalis Vilnesia, 2009. 9 (1), pp. 85-104., 2009, Peer-reviewed
From Bride to Careworker? On Complexes, Japan and the Philippines
Mario Lopez
M/C Journal of Media and Culture, 2007, Peer-reviewed
Browsing@nikkeinet.org: “Digital” Conversations in the Lives of Latin American Residents in Japan, Ritsumeikan Journal of Asia Pacific Studies
Mario Lopez
Ritsumeikan Journal of Asia Pacific Studies, 2005. Vol. 18: 123-42., 2005, Peer-reviewed
Misc.
Introduction: Environmental resources use and challenges in contemporary southeast asia
Mario Ivan Lopez; Jafar Suryomenggolo
Asia in Transition, 2018
Visual Documentary Project (2020) (in Japanese)
Lopez, Mario
CSEAS Newsletter, Aug. 2021, Invited, Lead author
Societal contributions that go beyond academic disciplinary boundaries: producing knowledge for change
Lopez, Mario
The Source, Springer Nature, May 2021, Lead author
Societal contributions that go beyond academic disciplinary boundaries: producing knowledge for change
Lopez, Mario
The Source Springer Nature, May 2021, Lead author
Visual Documentary Project 2019
Mario Lopez
CSEAS NEWSLETTER (JAPANESE), Mar. 2019, Invited, Lead author
License to Play: The Ludic in Japanese Culture
Mario Lopez
ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE, 2016, Peer-reviewed, Invited
Book Review of Born Out of Place: Migrant Mothers and the Politics of International Labor
LOPEZ Mario
Southeast Asian Studies, Aug. 2015, Peer-reviewed, Invited
Eyes to the East: the Challenges to the Integration of E.U. and non E.U. Nursing Workforces
Mario Lopez
Philippine Studies Conference in Japan (PSCJ), Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, 01 Mar. 2014, Peer-reviewed
The Revitalization of Transnational Faith: Filipino Micro-political Religious Practices in Japan
40 years of Southeast Asian Studies: Publishing on Asia in Asia
Mario Lopez
Association for Asian Studies, Manchester Grand Hyatt, 23 Mar. 2013, Peer-reviewed
A Sustainable Humanosphere Approach to Southeast Asian Studies
Kono Yasuyuki; Mario Lopez
Plural Coexistence and Sustainability: Asian Experiences in Interdisciplinary Perspectives, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 11 Mar. 2013, Peer-reviewed
Filipino Religiosity in Japanese Hinterlands: Appraising Catholicism in the Lives of Filipina Residents in Japan
Mario Lopez
Re-assessing Ritual in Southeast Asia, sponsored by Southeast Asian Studies for Sustainable Humanosphere Research program, JSPS Asian Core Program “Asian Connections” and Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Feb. 2013, Peer-reviewed
Filipino Religiosity in Japanese Hinterlands: Appraising the Meaning of Belonging for Catholic Filipinos in Japan
Mario Lopez
Anthropology of Japan in Japan 12th Conference, Doshisha University, Kyoto, 12 Dec. 2012, Peer-reviewed
Progressive Entanglements: Religious Intimacy in Japanese-Filipino Marriages
Mario Lopez
Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) 19th Biennial Conference 2012, University of Western Sydney Australia, 12 Jul. 2012, Peer-reviewed
Expanding Fields of Care: Working through Ambivalent Understandings of Filipino Resident’s care potential in Japan
Japanese-Filipino Marriages as an Expression of Interaction between Intimate and Public Spheres
Mario Lopez
British Association of Japanese Studies (BAJS), School of Oriental and African Studies, 14 Sep. 2010, Peer-reviewed
Caring for the Present Future? Procuro-scapes and Mobilizing Filipino National’s Affective Labor as Careworkers in Japan
Mario Lopez
Transnational Mobilities for Care: State, Market and Family Dynamics in Asia, Asian Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 10 Sep. 2009, Peer-reviewed
Clandestine Missionaries? Evangelizing Encounters in International Marriages within the Intimate Sphere and Beyond
Mario Lopez
1st Next-Generation Global Workshop, Reconstruction of the Intimate and Public Spheres, Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto University, 12 Jan. 2009, Peer-reviewed
Presentations
Transformations in Work and Life for Migrant Workers under the Corona Pandemic in Care Facilities
Mario Lopez
The Japanese Society of Health and Medical Sociology, 15 May 2021, オンライン
The Indispensability of Anthropological Fieldwork: Experiences from Researching in Japan under a Pandemic
Mario Lopez
Sustainability in Research and Education: Expanding the Field from the Asia Pacific, 11 Mar. 2021
Living in Co-existence: Between Japan and the Philippines
Transformation of the awareness and practice of care in Japan during the global spread of COVID-19: From the experiences of foreign nurses and care workers
Mario Lopez; Ohno Shun
Seminar on Employment of Foreigners in the Nursing Care Industry, 11 Feb. 2021, Invited
Humanosphere Research and the Humanosphere Potentiality Index (HPI): Aiming toward Different Paradigms
LOPEZ Mario
18 Sep. 2019, Invited
Humanosphere Research and the Humanosphere Potentiality Index (HPI): Appraising Existing Indicators from a Long-term Perspective
LOPEZ Mario
16 Sep. 2019, Invited
Assessing and Clustering the World from Given Potentialities through Humanosphere Potentiality Index (HPI)
Sato Takahiro; Mario Lopez
06 Mar. 2019, Invited
An overview and reflection on the Visual Documentary Project (VDP) 2012-2018
LOPEZ Mario
Swift Current Series 1, 17 Jan. 2019
Imagining Plural Asias: How can we Enrich Interrelationships across borders?
LOPEZ Mario
Asia Leadership Fellow Program, 19 Oct. 2018, Invited
Academic Day: Hints on how do "research" and progress in society
LOPEZ Mario
Kyoto University Academic Day, 20 Sep. 2018
50 years of Japanese Southeast Asian Studies
LOPEZ Mario
Visaya State University, 12 Feb. 2018
Appraising Existing Indicators through the Humanosphere Potentiality Index (HPI)
LOPEZ Mario
Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Ateneo de Manila University, 08 Feb. 2018, Invited
Visual Documentary Project: Appraising Southeast Asia through Documentary
LOPEZ Mario
Asia Leadership Fellow Program Lead, 19 Oct. 2017
Responding to the Challenges of super-ageing societies: a comparison of Japan and Germany’s strategies to procure health personnel from overseas
LOPEZ Mario
AAS in Asia, 25 Jun. 2016
Global Movement in Asia
LOPEZ Mario
09 Mar. 2015, Invited
Transnational Migration in Southeast Asia: Flows to Singapore from the Philippines
LOPEZ Mario
02 Feb. 2015
Toward the Secure Supply of Care: Lessons from the partnership between Germany and the Philippines
LOPEZ Mario
Holistic Studies in Ageing, 05 Sep. 2014, Invited
Toward the Secure Supply of Care: Lessons from the partnership between Germany and the Philippines
LOPEZ Mario
Holistic Studies on Ageing, 04 Sep. 2014, Invited
Careworkers for the Present: The Globalization of the Care work place
LOPEZ Mario
The Globalizing Careworker Worker Place, 08 Jun. 2014, インターアジア&外国人介護人材育成研究会, Invited
Migrant paths, Migrant Roots: Lecture on Migration between Southeast Asia and Japan
LOPEZ Mario
09 Mar. 2013, Kyoto Roundtable Special Lecture, Kyoto International House
Transnational Marriage and the Reach of religion: Religious Intimacy in Japanese-Filipino marriages (Special lecture)
13 Dec. 2012, Doshisha University
Transnational Marriage and the Reach of religion: Religious Intimacy in Japanese-Filipino marriages
LOPEZ Mario
30 Sep. 2012, Invited
Humanosphere Potentiality Index: Appraising Existing Indicators from a Long-term Perspective
LOPEZ Mario
Japan-ASEAN Platform for Transdisciplinary Studies 5th Talk
Books and Other Publications
Manusia, Alam, dan Masyarakat: Kajian Multidisiplin Asia Tenggara
Mario Ivan Lopez; Nathan Badenoch; Achmad Choirudin, Joint editor, Principal Editor
Mario Lopez, CSEAS, Kyoto University, CSEAS, Kyoto University, From 01 Apr. 2012, To Present
International Convention of Asian Scholar (ICAS) Film/Documentary Program Coordinator
Planning, management, etc.
Kyoto, Japan, Leiden, the Netherlands, From 24 Aug. 2021, To 27 Aug. 2021
ECRs from Kyoto University x Editor-in-Chief of Springer Nature: Roundtable “Academic challenges and opportunities for early career researchers approaching SDGs
Planning, management, etc., Panel moderator
Kyoto University Research Administration Office, From 24 Mar. 2021
Reporting from the Frontline: Possibilities and Limits of Southeast Asian Media Responses to Covid-19