Noteworthy in the fall of 2016 has been the increase in articles about the Russo-Japanese relationship. They accompanied the Eastern Economic Forum meeting of Putin and Abe and anticipated the planned visit of Putin to Yamaguchi in December. Further attention was also given to Sino-Russian relations, especially as questions kept being raised about how linking the Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt is proceeding. Coverage of North Korea and diplomacy regarding the Korean Peninsula was scant during this period, as UN Security Council deliberations have dragged on in secret. Southeast Asia drew more attention earlier in 2016, but it has not been conspicuous of late. The main story has been Japan, but China looms large in the background, as it does on all matters related to the “pivot to the East.”

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