Japan Intensifies Semiconductor Presence

Japan Beefs Up Semiconductor Presence By Tying Up With Several Chipmakers.

• Japanese government committed subsidies of up to $320 million to U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology, Inc to fortify supply chains against China.
• The Micron deal followed months of negotiations to reduce heavy dependence on Taiwanese chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd
• The notice came within 48 hours of a meeting in Tokyo between U.S. VP Kamala Harris and senior executives of more than a dozen Japanese technology groups to discuss the U.S. Chips and Science Act.
• Micron, which acquired Japan’s Elpida Memory in 2012, said it would use the investment to develop new Dram memory chips at its plant in Hiroshima.
• In July, Japan committed up to ¥92.9 billion ($644 million) to Western Digital Corp, the manufacturing partner of Japanese chipmaker Kioxia, to expand production in Japan.
• In 2021, TSMC shared plans to build a $7 billion chip manufacturing plant in Japan with Sony Group Corp, Japan agreed to subsidize half the investment.
• Japan is also discussing cutting-edge technology with International Business Machines Corp (IBM).
• The global economy battled a semiconductor chip crisis which was aggravated due to the pandemic, severely disrupting the supply chains. Therefore, several companies decided to boost their semiconductor presence to reduce reliance on China.