Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) on Saturday returned from Japan, where she held talks on bilateral cooperation, including on semiconductors and electric vehicles (EVs), the Ministry of Economic Affairs said.
Wang arrived in Japan on Aug. 28 to witness the signing of a semiconductor supply chain partnership memorandum of understanding between the Taiwan-Japan Industrial Collaboration Promotion Office and Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture.
The office and the prefecture would also collaborate on cross-field innovation development, the ministry said.
Photo: CNA
Japanese semiconductor production material and equipment suppliers have been keen to invest in Taiwan, it said, citing a plan by Sumco Corp, the second-largest silicon wafer maker in the world, and Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團).
The two companies have agreed to invest NT$28.2 billion (US$921.93 million) on a 12-inch silicon wafer plant in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮). Production is scheduled to start in 2024.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and two Japanese firms also plan to build a fab, which is scheduled to start mass production in 2024, the ministry said.
The fab would manufacture specialty chips using TSMC’s mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer technologies.
Taiwan leads its peers in the development of high-end semiconductor technologies, and if Japan’s semiconductor production material and equipment suppliers continue to cooperate with Taiwan, the two countries could bolster their competitive edge in the global market, Wang said in a statement.
To boost bilateral ties, Wang visited the Japan Business Federation, a major business group, and several enterprises, including Sumco, Canon Inc, power supplier Jera Co, Mitsui Chemicals Inc, Panasonic Corp and IT solution provider NEC Corp.
Asked by the Japanese firms about a talent shortage in Taiwan, Wang promised to expand talent exchanges and training between Taiwan and Japan to ensure that the semiconductor supply chain is more resilient.
Taiwan excels in IC design, as well as electronics hardware and software development with respect to intellectual property rights, Wang said.
It can also respond promptly to sudden market changes, enabling the nation to produce critical components for EV use, she said.
Taiwan and Japan could aim for a larger share of the global smart EV market through cooperation in automotive electronics, smart cabins and 5G and the Internet of Vehicles connections, she added.
Wang is also eyeing business opportunities in carbon reduction amid the government’s goal to reach net zero emissions by 2050, the ministry said.
During her visit, she explored the use of hydrogen power to reduce thermal power generation and cut carbon emissions in Taiwan.
The promotion office was established by the ministry in March last year to accelerate the pace of industrial cooperation between Taipei and Tokyo.
Japan and Taiwan have since bolstered their cooperation in semiconductor development, the ministry said.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work