Suzuka International Circuit, the long time home of the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix, has stepped away from hosting an event in the 2017 season due to rising concerns of ticket sales. Several venues have stepped forward to host the race and keep it within the Asia-Oceania region. Those interested venues are:
Phillip Island Circuit, Australia--The Australian circuit has bid for a race previously, having lost out to Ruapuna in New Zealand for a round on the calendar. If Phillip Island were to get the nod, Ruapuna would be moved to round three of the season, and Motegi would assume Suzuka's race date as round four.
Pukekohe Park Circuit, New Zealand--Ruapuna is set to garner a lot of attention for hosting the first top tier open wheel series event within the country since the 1960's. Pukekohe, the more famous and active track, was overlooked for Ruapuna due to concerns of adequate track safety employees. Now that the New Zealand government has open arms welcomed the series, Pukekohe could join the series in the same way as Phillip Island.
Clark International Circuit, Philippines--The Philippines are not well renowned for their wealth of drivers, but with Jerome Torres making his debut with government support next season, Clark could weasel it's way into Suzuka's race date without any calendar changes.
Shanghai International Circuit, China--One of the favorites among VRR series superiors, Shanghai has petitioned to host an event since before 2016. Now that there is an open race date very much open to their usage, Shanghai and the Chinese government are very much bidding large on getting the nod.
Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain--Another favorite of the officials in charge, BIC has also rallied for a series event for well over a year. However, with Yas Marina in the nearby UAE hosting a race, there could be serious issues as far as ticket sales are concerned for the two venues if Bahrain claims Suzuka's race date.