The urgency of International and Regional Studies has been highlighted with the promotion of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. However，China’s research in this area is still in its initial stage，and it is urgent to build a talent training system with Chinese characteristics. As Southeast Asia is the frontier region of China’s Belt and Road Initiative，it is of great practical significance to cultivate Southeast Asian research talents with high quality. Taking Japan as an example，this paper discusses the development history of International and Regional Studies and the talent cultivation model of Kyoto University to provide reference for cultivating Southeast Asian research talents in China. Japan has cultivated many International and Regional Studies talents after World War II through academic cooperation networks and scientific research funding support，promoted the transmission and reproduction of tacit knowledge of International and Regional Studies，and formed a unique research base. As an essential base，the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies at Kyoto University focuses on recruiting students from multidisciplinary backgrounds and multicultural regions to cultivate comprehensive human resources. At the same time，it focuses on setting majors and research directions from large regions and essential topics and on a curriculum system that combines theory and practice to cultivate students’ independent research and problem-solving abilities. The above model can reference the professional setting，faculty construction，and curriculum system construction of Southeast Asian studies talents in China.