Depopulation and Abandoning Farming Problem as a Global Issue: Bhutanese Scholars' Comparative Experience in Japan, Summer 2016

摘要

The problem of depopulation and abandoning farming is a serious issue in rural Japan, particularly, in hhe villages located in mountainous areas and islands. This problem has first surfaced in 1960s when rapid economic growth and industrial development had occurred, and this problem has been gradually recognized as an un-avoidable socio-economic phenomenon with economic development of a nation. It has been generally believed that an appropriate approach for depopulation and abandoning farming is to minimize unbalanced economic development between urban and rural areas. However, the attempt aiming to minimize the gap of economic development is, even at present, not successful at the nationallevel. The same recognition and approach for the problem is also becoming common in other developing Asian countries facing depopulation and abandoning farming with "an epidemic" market globalization, such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and Laos. Is it really un-avoidable phenomenon and un-overcoming problem by human kind? As increasing CO2 emission has resulted in global wanning problem before human kind knew it, the problem of depopulation and abandoning farming has a potential to become serious threat to sustainableexistence of human kind. We do not have any confirmed approach in spite of socio-economic approach and thus we expect individual practical device of people understanding this problem as own problem by "awareness of the person concerned". When this problem becomes global issue like global warming, not all but some people would try to challenge to break the common sense such as an un-avoidable problem. For this purpose, we have conducted the mutual enlightenment practice-oriented area studies since 2013 particularly between Bhutan and Japan. In the summer of 2016, the five Bhutanese scholars of Sherubtse College including the co-presenters of this paper were invited to conduct the comparative study between Bhutan and Japan. This study program is supported by Kyoto Prefectural Govt, and Miyazu-City govt, with "HITO MACHI HITO CAMPUS" program, Kyoto Univ.