CHIBANA Izumi
| CHIBANA Izumi |
| [Belonging・Position] | Bangkok Research Center |
| [Research Field] | Asian Law (the Philippines), Law and Development, Migration and Foreign Labor |
| [email] |
Izumi_Chibana 
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| researchmap | Profile Information (Research history, education, papers & publications) |
Previous research
My research has focused on analyzing the political process and the Constitution, electoral reform and the judicialization of politics, with an emphasis on identifying the characteristics of the Philippine judicial system. During my research period at the embassy of Japan in the Philippines, I analyzed the impact of judicial decisions on conflicts in the southern Philippines, including the Mindanao peace process. My main research interests are Asian law, law and development, and foreign migrant labor. In the area of migrant labor, I have studied policies and laws regarding migrant workers from the Philippines which exports more workers than any other country in Southeast Asia.
Current research projects
Currently, I am interested in the developments surrounding Filipino seafarers, sea-based overseas foreign workers. The Philippines is one of the world’s leading suppliers of seafarers, and many of the developed shipping nations rely on Filipino seafarers to fill shortages in the global maritime labor market due to aging populations.
Japan is no exception and has been working with the Philippines to build a system to produce seafarers. Up to the present, Japanese shipping companies have established merchant marine academies and seafaring training institutions in the Philippines with the aim of producing highly skilled seafarers through training Filipino people and are working to secure competent and stable human resources. As seafarers are the key to the logistics supporting telecommuting in the COVID era, their significance is increasingly being recognized. Therefore, I would like to continue to focus my research on issues related to the sustainable supply of Filipino seafarers.