Japan to Establish Advanced Semiconductor Domestic Production System

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The Japanese government is launching efforts to establish a domestic production system for advanced semiconductors, which it has relied on overseas.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 24th, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which oversees industrial policy, announced the creation of a public-private joint venture to organize a domestic production system for advanced semiconductors.

Additionally, a new organization called the "Semiconductor and Digital Industry Strategy Review Meeting" will be operated to review new industrial policies related to semiconductors and digital infrastructure.

The joint venture, led by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) located in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, includes Tokyo Electron and Canon as core members, both of which manufacture semiconductor production equipment. The plan is for each company to connect the technologies they have researched and developed related to the "front-end process," which involves creating circuits on substrates during advanced semiconductor manufacturing, to the practical application of production facilities at AIST, a national research and development corporation. In this process, cooperation with leading semiconductor production technology companies from the United States and Taiwan is also planned.

The Japanese government aims to establish an advanced semiconductor development system based on public-private cooperation, targeting domestic mass production by 2025.

The Yomiuri Shimbun analyzed, "There are many bases in Japan producing conventional semiconductors for PCs, but in the field of advanced semiconductors, which serve as the brains of various digital devices such as smartphones and automobiles, Japanese companies lag significantly behind companies from the United States, Europe, South Korea, and Taiwan."

The newspaper further analyzed the background for establishing the public-private joint venture to cooperate in research and development and manufacturing environment creation, stating, "Securing advanced semiconductors, whose demand is rapidly increasing due to digitalization, has emerged as an urgent task."

It is also reported that the Japanese government plans to provide subsidies to the Taiwanese semiconductor company TSMC, which is scheduled to establish a research and development base for advanced semiconductor assembly processes in Tsukuba City.

The Yomiuri stated, "The Japanese government expects synergy effects with the public-private joint venture promoting advanced semiconductor development through support for TSMC."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.