Japan is seeking to “drive growth” in the nation’s chip industry, trying to breathe new life into a sector with massive capacity, but trouble turning out cutting-edge products, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a report yesterday.
The ministry would treat semiconductor industry growth as a “national project” — as important as securing food and energy, it said.
The Japanese government will support the establishment of manufacturing bases, including through joint ventures with overseas chip foundries, the ministry said.
The push comes amid a global chip shortage that has weighed on manufacturing across a range of industries and threatens productions at Japanese automakers.
Japan’s share of global semiconductor sales dwindled to just 10 percent in 2019, down from 50 percent in 1988.
The country still has 84 chip factories, the most in the world, but they are not producing enough high-end products. As a result, Japan now has to import 64 percent of its semiconductors.
The report follows a draft growth strategy from the Japanese Cabinet secretariat issued earlier this week, which assessed that the country’s semiconductor manufacturing base is outdated.
Japan was the world’s biggest maker of microchips in the 1980s, but has since lost out to the likes of Taiwan and South Korea.
The ministry said that it will seek a “drastic revamp” of existing chip factories deemed strategically important in supporting the global supply chain.
It will also strengthen development of chips required for post-5G systems and supporting green innovation, it said.
The government will identify areas especially important to the nation and consider “special treatment” beyond policies taken for regular industries, the report said.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
Hong Kong authorities ramped up sales of the local dollar as the greenback’s slide threatened the foreign-exchange peg. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) sold a record HK$60.5 billion (US$7.8 billion) of the city’s currency, according to an alert sent on its Bloomberg page yesterday in Asia, after it tested the upper end of its trading band. That added to the HK$56.1 billion of sales versus the greenback since Friday. The rapid intervention signals efforts from the city’s authorities to limit the local currency’s moves within its HK$7.75 to HK$7.85 per US dollar trading band. Heavy sales of the local dollar by
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film