'Bangil' US Vice President Urges Japanese Semiconductor Industry to Play "Crucial Role in Supply Chain" (Summary)

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is visiting Japan to attend the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, met with representatives from the semiconductor industry in Japan on the 28th and emphasized that Japan plays a "critical role" in building the semiconductor supply chain. As the U.S. and Japan strengthen semiconductor cooperation, she also revealed that Intel, a leading U.S. semiconductor company, is exploring ways to collaborate with Japan.

According to Bloomberg and other sources, Vice President Harris met with representatives from Japan's semiconductor industry in Tokyo on the same day and said, "We see Japan playing a very important role in this work (building the supply chain) and in solving the problems we face." It is reported that at least 13 company heads attended the meeting, including Sanken Electric, Tokyo Electron, Hitachi, Fujitsu, and Nikon.

At the meeting, Vice President Harris emphasized, "We need to diversify our dependence on essential supplies across Japan, the U.S., and the world," adding, "We know that no single country can meet global demand on its own regarding this issue. However, it is important that we and our allied partners enable the system to function in a way that allows us to grow and operate at a practical level."

Earlier, foreign media cited U.S. government officials predicting that Vice President Harris would discuss the Semiconductor Support Act, created to secure semiconductor supremacy while countering China, during her meetings. It was also expected that she would highlight the advantages of establishing multiple production hubs rather than concentrating all manufacturing facilities in a single low-cost country like China.

Vice President Harris's remarks came amid the first preliminary working-level meeting of the U.S.-led semiconductor alliance CHIP4. The meeting was held virtually and attended by directors or senior officials from the four member countries: the U.S., South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. The U.S. is seeking to counter China's semiconductor industry through CHIP4 by promoting workforce development, research and development (R&D) cooperation, and diversification of the semiconductor supply chain.

Among CHIP4 members, the U.S. and Japan held an "Economic 2+2" meeting between their foreign and commerce ministers in July, where they prepared cooperation plans for next-generation semiconductor development. To this end, the two countries plan to establish a joint next-generation semiconductor research center in Japan within the year and aim to commercialize 2-nanometer (nm; 1 nm equals one billionth of a meter) process technology in Japan by 2025.

In this context, Intel expressed that there is an opportunity to partner with the Japanese government regarding semiconductor strategy. Bruce Andrews, Intel’s Vice President in charge of government affairs, said in an interview with Nihon Keizai Shimbun released the previous day, "I cannot specify the exact form of partnership, but we are exploring opportunities and ways to collaborate with Japanese partners and can utilize programs run by the Japanese government."

Andrews mentioned that Intel is in the process of acquiring Tower Semiconductor, which has production bases in Japan, since February, stating, "Intel has had an office in Japan since 1971 and maintains close relationships with semiconductor device and material companies, but once the Tower Semiconductor acquisition is completed, it will have its first manufacturing base in Japan." He also evaluated the cooperation following the U.S.-Japan 2+2 meeting as yielding significant results, adding, "For building a strong supply chain, government-level relations between the two countries will become increasingly important."

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