March – April 2024

The Asan Forum > Country Reports

Country Reports

Select the date
June 13, 2014 Country Reports
Country Report: Russia (May 2014)

With Russia’s attention having been primarily focused on the Ukrainian crisis in the past months, the coverage of Asia in Russian media and academic reports has been even […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

debt forgiveness, Gas deal, sanctions regime, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, US-Japan alliance
May 9, 2014 Country Reports
Country Report: South Korea (May 2014)

President Barack Obama’s late April visits to Asian countries were assessed in Korean papers as an attempt to make the “pivot” to Asia more sophisticated with special emphasis […]

Editorial Staff

China and Six-Party Talks, Sino-ROK mutual assistance on history issue, Ukraine crisis and North Korea, US-Japan alliance and the pivot
April 30, 2014 Country Reports
Country Report: China (April 2014)

Chinese writings in the past two months reveal a somewhat restrained, but dark, tone about regional security dynamics, especially with regard to China-Japan and China-US relations. The nationalistic […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Dong Jiaxin*)

Central Asia, China-US-ROK triangle, Economic Interdependence, Japan-Taiwan relations, Japan's defense strategy, Korean Peninsula, new type of major power relations, Regional security framework, Taiwan, Ukraine, US threat to DPRK, Vietnam
April 11, 2014 Country Reports
Country Report: Japan (April 2014)

February and March 2014 saw Japan much more isolated than at any point since the US occupation, but the shallowness and myopia of Japan’s media coverage stood out […]

Editorial Staff

Abe Shinzo, international society, Park Geun-hye, public opinion war, reparations, trilateral summit, Ukraine
March 28, 2014 Country Reports
Country Report: Russia (March 2014)

Russia’s writings on Asia over the past two months included much on Russia’s pivot toward the Asia-Pacific, its relations with Japan, and its approach toward the Korean Peninsula. […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

debate on DPRK, economic integration, priority of Southeast Asia, Russia's pivot, Russian Far East development and security, Southeast Asia, Southeast Asia US World domination, Ukraine
March 7, 2014 Country Reports
Country Report: South Korea (March 2014)

Two themes have been in the forefront in Korean media coverage of international relations in the region: diplomacy related to reunification and ROK-Japan relations. The former was sparked […]

Editorial Staff

Dokdo /Takeshima, Germany, Germany Reunification, reunions, textbooks, two-Korea policy, UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights
February 21, 2014 Country Reports
Country Report: China (February 2014)

In the shadow of the pretense that Sino-US relations were improved by the Xi-Obama summit and are now guided by an understanding to pursue a “new type of […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Dong Jiaxin*)

China Dream, John Kerry, New type of great power relations, Russia, Russian Far East, Taiwan
February 7, 2014 Country Reports
Country Report: Japan (February 2014)

This has been one of the richest periods for Japanese media coverage in memory. In covering Biden’s early December travel through the region at a time of renewed […]

Editorial Staff

Abe Shinzo, collective defense, Jang Song-Thaek, propaganda war, the China Dream, Yachi Shotaro, Yasukuni Shrine
January 20, 2014 Country Reports
Russia (January 2014)

At year-end there were many wrap-up articles issued in Russia. The big picture is seen through the prism of Sino-US relations and Russia’s decision to veer to the […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

January 10, 2014 Country Reports
Country Report: South Korea (January 2014)

Japan was on Korean minds in the final months of 2013, occasionally interrupted by new reasons to recall North Korea’s looming presence. The year ended with less reason […]

Editorial Staff

Jang Song-Thaek, military influence, multilateralism, Park-Abe summit, political stability, Yasukuni Shrine