The Culture City of East Asia 2016, Nara project aims to make autumn a particularly eventful time. “Art Celebration in Nara: Beyond Time and Space” opened in September and runs until Oct. 23 and its lineup of art exhibitions features works by leading contemporary artists from East Asia, India, Iran, Syria and Turkey

 Japan and Saudi Arabia each want a better economy. To get there, they’ve just doubled down on closer bilateral relations and deeper cultural ties. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in Tokyo September 1 to sign a handful of agreements that together better align their economic interests.

Changsha, capital city of central China's Hunan Province, has been awarded the title of the "2017 Culture City of East Asia" in a program established by China, Japan and South Korea in Beijing. [...] The three candidate cities were judged by an 11-member committee of experts in the fields of cultural exchange, cultural service system construction and intangible cultural heritage protection and inheritance.

The two day Asian Confluence NADI River Festival is one such example. Organized by the Asian Confluence and India, East Asia Center in Shillong, in collaboration with the Meghalaya government and the Maulana Abul Kamal Azad Institute of Asian Studies, [...] Rivers served as the central theme of discussions, as in addition to serving as a means of transport, rivers have formed as a connective narrative among people for centuries.

The ruling by the tribunal in the Philippines vs. Chinaarbitration case is no doubt a major setback to Chinese diplomacy. No matter how people evaluate the quality and impartiality of the ruling, [...] it will not only damage China’s image and soft power, but will greatly inhibit China’s claims to territory and maritime rights in the South China Sea, and the consequences will be far reaching. 

From July 10-13, Mongolia celebrated the annual Naadam festival. The festivities consist of a number of national ceremonies, concerts, and, most notably, sporting competitions—including those for the “three manly sports” of wrestling, horseracing, and archery. Many other side events, such as shegai, a game involving flicking sheep anklebones, and a variety of carnival games are also popular on the holiday.

Media can only become regional or global in a broadcasting regime that enables content to move freely beyond national borders. Regional broadcasting, which was restricted in the 1980s in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, now allows for the legitimate transfer of content across national borders. Within this framework, Japanese interaction with its East Asian neighbours can be viewed from two perspectives: politics and popular culture. The two are not mutually exclusive, but are driven by different forces.