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Eric Martin
For Eric Martin's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Laws governing global e-commerce and the growing tidal wave of data that crosses borders may soon change.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 22, 2024
Streaming a movie abroad may soon come with taxes at the border
It's still unclear exactly how governments would implement digital tariffs.
The drone strike that killed three American soldiers in Jordan presents U.S. President Joe Biden with a decision that will be one of the most consequential of his presidency.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 29, 2024
Biden faces pressure to confront Iran after U.S. troops killed
One possibility is covert action that would see the U.S. strike Iran without claiming credit for it but sending a clear message regardless.
Taiwan's Chief trade negotiator John Deng. Taipei is seeking to expand U.S. trade talks, as the island faces challenges from China in its effort to join the CPTPP.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 6, 2023
Taiwan looks to expand U.S. trade deal to counter isolation
The island’s trade officials are talking with their U.S. counterparts about broadening the scope of their current arrangement, reached earlier this year.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at an event in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 11, 2023
New U.S. rules on China investments fail to offer clear guidance
The Treasury Department’s 46-page notice released alongside the order includes at least 80 separate questions about how it should structure the program.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 16, 2023
China’s spying in Cuba picks up where the Soviet Union left off
Beijing’s reported efforts at surveillance from Cuba are reminiscent of Lourdes, a Soviet-built listening post just south of Havana.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 19, 2023
U.S. agrees on Taiwan trade terms, clouding plans for China talks
The Taiwan initiative isn’t a formal free-trade agreement, but it’s part of a broader push to deepen trade ties amid heightened tensions with Beijing.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2023
China left out of Sri Lanka debt talks amid angst over delays
Finance chiefs from India, Japan and the Paris Club of sovereign creditors held a joint briefing in Washington with the International Monetary Fund to mark the start of the restructuring.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 10, 2023
U.S. and India plan to boost chips collaboration, Biden’s commerce chief says
The memorandum of understanding between the two countries focuses on information-sharing and policy dialogue toward greater collaboration in the semiconductor industry.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2023
Activists blast Biden’s pick of a Wall Street insider for World Bank president
However, some supporters have said that Ajay Banga, who was raised in India, brings a different perspective to an institution whose leaders typically have been deeply embedded in the U.S.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 8, 2022
Netherlands plans curbs on China tech exports in deal with U.S.
The move is a step toward bulking up U.S. efforts to limit Beijing's chipmaking and military ambitions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 12, 2022
IMF warns ‘worst is yet to come’ as steps to slow inflation raise risks
The IMF cut its forecast for global growth next year to 2.7%, from the 2.9% seen in July and 3.8% in January.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 21, 2022
Hunger and blackouts are just the start of an emerging economic crisis
Compounding the danger is the most aggressive monetary tightening campaign the Federal Reserve has embarked on in two decades.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2022
IMF chief urges debt-laden nations to act now to avoid problems
Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that her worry is greatest for low-income countries because 60% are in debt distress or in danger of reaching that point.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 14, 2021
Taliban ‘conundrum’ forcing strange bedfellows on Afghanistan
World leaders one after another have called for international cooperation even as they jockey to gain influence in the great power vacuum that the U.S. departure has left behind.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 13, 2021
Biden team weighs digital trade deal to counter China in Asia
The policy would represent an early effort by the Biden administration to present an economic plan for the world's most economically and strategically significant region.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 8, 2021
India supercharged its economy 30 years ago. COVID-19 unraveled it in months.
Years, and perhaps decades, of progress have been unwound in months, as many Indians who had clawed their way out of poverty face grim job prospects.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 22, 2021
U.S. weighs global vaccine intellectual property waiver opposed by drugmakers
The European Union, U.K., Japan, Switzerland, Brazil and Norway are also among territories resisting the measure currently before the WTO.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores