Japan go back to semiconductor field currently controlled by Taiwan– DW– 03/19/2025

In Recent Years, as the Global Trade Gradually Grew More Volatile Due to Conflicts, Taiffs and Pandemic-Related Disruptions, Japan Has Been Working to Rebuild Its Domestic Semiconductor Industry.

The Country Once Dominated The Market of High-Performance Electronics and Still Boasts Some of the Most Cutting-Edge Chip Fabrication Technology in theWorld In the 1980S, However, Japan Effectively Allowed Nations Like South Korea to Take Over Large-Scale Production of Basic Chips as The Sector was not extremely lucrative at the time. IT what Understood that International Trade would certainly not be restrained, enabling japan to count on imports.

That understanding has, However, Changed, Said Kazuto Suzuki, A Professor of Science and Technology Policy atTokyo University Talking to DW, He indicated the interruption of supply chains set off by the coronavirus pandemic.

“The Sudden Shortage of Chips in Japan, Europe and the Us Made The Japanese Government Realize that if domestic industry was not to go into decline, that we would need ours dedicated supplies,” Heer Said

More Recently, The Japanese Government’s Sense of Urgency Has Been Heighted by Policies Introduced by the New Donald Trump Administration that Impede Free Trade, Suzuki Added.

Japan Not Aiming for the Top?

“The biggest single factor for the government is ensuring economic security,” Said Damian Thong, Head of Japan Equity Research and a Semiconductor Sector Specialist at the Macquarie Group in Tokyo.

“The feeling is that it is critical that japan is able to maintain an independent capability in semiconductors in order to meet the needs of its own manufacturers,” He Told DW.

The “Ai Boom” of the Last Couple of Years has Further Focused the Government’s Attention on the Sector,Thong Added Despite thesis stress, However, Thong Believes it is not likely that japan is trying to gain back Its previous setting as the globe’s leading chipmaker.

“The Government here is not trying to deploy on a global scale,” Thong Told DW. “It wants to maintain Its own scale for japan but, at the same time, remain relevant and attractive to other forignies to come here and set up their Own fabrication facilities in the future.”

Taiwan’s Semiconductor Giant Teams Up with Sony, Denso

With those objectives in mind, japan has actually been going after a two-pronged technique to increase residential manufacturing. Firstly, IT In vitedGlobal Chian Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) in 2021 to link with Sony and Auto Components Manufacturer Denso and Build a Plant in Kumamoto,Southern Japan The Project is Worth 1.2 Trillion Yen ($ 8.01 Billion, EUR 7.34 Billion) with over 40% Financed by Government Subsidies.

The Plant is generating the 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer chips that are utilized in vehicles and customer electronic devices. In 2023, TSMC Announced that it would certainly be developing a 2nd construction strategies in the location to expand.

The Second Element of the Strategy was to Create ANew Japanese Semiconductor Manufacturer Rapidus Since 2022, Japanese Government Agencies Have Been Funneling Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Into the New Company to Help It Set Up Production Facilities in Hokkaido.

Rapidus is collaborating with the us solid ibm and the Belgian Interiversity Microelectronics Center (IMEC) Organization to place innovative Semiconductor Research right intoProduction The Government has actually just recently revealed that extra 100 Billion Yen is Being Made Available to Rapidus Under the 2025 Budget.

“The objective is to build state-of-the-art chips with other companies to ensure that japan remains a global player,” Said Suzuki

“There is rapidly growing competition in the Semiconductor Sector, ParticularLy Due to the Huge Demand in the areas of artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, Automated Driving, Drones and Others,” Hey Said

‘Last Chance to Revitalize’

While Taiwanese Manufacturers are currently controling the international market of Advanced Semiconductors, Japanese Companies Still Excel in Producing Machinery Required to make advanced chips. This Technology, However, Could At Some Point Be Acquired byChina So, Beijing’s Increasingly Threatening Stance on Taiwan, which it considers as a Breakaway Province, is Fueling Concerns of Supply Disruptions.

Suzuki Says Japan has no choice yet to “step up” to the difficulty due to the fact that the competitors “is only going to get tough.” He so Believes that the federal government gets on the best track to making sure self-sufficiency in chip manufacturing.

“Our Advantages are that we have the materials required and the equipment necessary to build better semiconductors,” According to the Tokyo-Based Professor

“The Government Sees This as the Last Chance to Revitalize the Domestic Industry, While We Still have the Engineers and Scientists with the Required Knowledge,” Suzuki Said

Edited by: Darko Janjevic