A former Japanese economics minister visiting Taiwan yesterday said that Taiwan, Japan and the US are establishing closer trilateral cooperation in the semiconductor industry, forming what he called a "semiconductor iron triangle."
Former Japanese minister of economy, trade and industry Yasutoshi Nishimura, a current member of the lower house of the Japanese Diet, said he came up with the phrase "semiconductor iron triangle," because global semiconductor powerhouse Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has a presence in Japan and the US.
Photo: CNA
TSMC has a factory in Kumamoto, Japan, and is building chip fabs in Arizona, Nishimura said.
TSMC's Arizona factory is using Japan-made manufacturing devices and materials, he said.
That is why the trilateral cooperation in building advanced semiconductors is heading in the right direction in strengthening global supply chains, he added.
Nishimura said he hopes with collaboration in advanced chips, Taiwan, Japan and the US can work closely in areas such as 5G, self-driving vehicles and generative artificial intelligence.
Nishimura first proposed his "semiconductor iron triangle" idea during a speech to overseas Taiwanese in Japan last month.
During that speech on April 13, Nishimura said Taiwan, Japan and the US need to closely unite to promote semiconductor development to jointly face an "arch enemy that steals semiconductor technology for military use," referring to China.
The 62-year-old Japanese politician previously served as minister of state for economic and fiscal policy, and minister of economic revitalization. He promoted bilateral cooperation between Taiwan and Japan in the semiconductor industry while heading the economy and trade office from 2022 to 2023.
Other than semiconductors and high-tech, the visiting Japanese Diet member also proposed closer Taipei-Tokyo exchanges in the energy sector.
Japan is set to take advantage of renewable energy and nuclear energy to make sure it has sufficient power supply in pushing for the advancement of new technologies, he said.
While Taiwan is phasing out nuclear energy, Taiwan and Japan can still work on renewable energy resources including solar, wind, hydrogen energy and storage batteries, he added.
Nishimura is leading a five-member parliamentary delegation from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from Saturday until today, during which he has met President William Lai (賴清德) and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴).
Nishimura is joined by four other LDP representatives: Kosaburo Nishime, Kazuo Yana, Hajime Sasaki and Ryusho Kato, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
The National Immigration Agency has banned two Chinese from returning to Taiwan, after they published social media content it described as disrespectful to national sovereignty. The agency imposed a two-month ban on a Chinese man surnamed Liang (梁) and a permanent ban on a woman surnamed Yang (楊), an influencer with 23 million followers, in October last year and last week respectively. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) yesterday said on the sidelines of a legislative meeting that Chinese visitors to Taiwan are required to comply with the rules and regulations governing their entry permits. The government has handled the ban and
RSS