Demographic issues have emerged as a common topic nowadays. According to LIPI’s report, in the years 2020 until 2030, Indonesia will get a demographic bonus. At that time, the population in Indonesia will increase. The number of productive age population (17-64 years) will be more than the non-productive age. The comparison touches the number of 70 to 30 percent. This is in contrast to the situation in Japan. The population curve in the land of the ‘rising sun’ forms an inverted triangle. Japan suffers from the burden of a large aging population.
As a response to the emerging population issue, on Wednesday (29/3) the Department of History UM held a public lecture themed “A Comparative Study On Socio-Economic Changes Among Several Areas In Tropical Asia During the 19th Century” in the multimedia room, Margono Building. FIB UGM. The public lecture invited Prof. Kohei Wakimura from Osaka University, Japan, as a speaker. He is an expert on socio-economic history in Asia, particularly the Indian region.
According to Kohei, the problem of population growth in the Asian region is not a new thing. In the 19th century, Java and the Philippines also experienced population explosions. “However, what must be underlined is, how did this phenomenon occur? What culture and socio-economic conditions caused it?” Kohei said. To explain the cause of population growth in Java and the Philippines, Kohei uses David Henley’s hypothesis, which states that population growth in both regions is influenced by economic factors, especially the increase in trade export activities.
As a historian who focuses on the flow of global history, Kohei Wakimura tries to see the connections between regions. Population growth in Java and the Philippines is then compared with countries in East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Kohei called these areas the trajectory of the three tropical regions around the Indian Ocean. Furthermore, he asks how the environment influences each region (three tropical historical trajectories) in determining its history. “This environment can be natural factors, or socio-economic structures,” added Kohei. The result is that the three regions have striking differences in terms of the ratio of population growth. “This difference can be caused by soil fertility, because it is related to production factors, epidemiology, and so on,” explained Kohei.
The conclusion from Kohei Wakimuran’s research is that there are differences in population growth period in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Africa. In Southeast Asia in the 19th century, the population growth was high. While South Asia, Kohei mentioned that population growth varies. “In India, it tends to fluctuate, so it varies,” Kohei said. On the other hand, population growth in Africa occurred after Southeast Asia. Africa experienced population growth in the mid-20th century. This growth is quite late. Japan and the East Asia region are inversely proportional to the African region. East Asia experienced earlier population growth than Southeast Asia. “But I don’t know why yet, that’s what we might have to look for,” he concluded.
(Sej/Bagus)