Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to increase financial support for the semiconductor industry to 10 trillion yen (about $67 billion) with the support of the private sector in an attempt to revive the country's semiconductor industry.
This is also another major layout of Japan in this field after the revision of the semiconductor strategy.
It is reported that Japan has released a revised draft of the "Semiconductor and Digital Industry Strategy" in June 2023, proposing to triple the sales of domestic semiconductors to more than 15 trillion yen (about 108 billion US dollars) by 2030.
Behind Japan's continuous increase in the semiconductor industry, it aims to regain its former kingship.
Back then, as the hegemon of the semiconductor industry, Japan had achieved dazzling results in the 80s of the 20th century, with a global market share of more than 50%. However, since the late 90s, the Japanese semiconductor industry has gradually declined, and today its market share is less than 10%.
According to the Nikkei survey, Japan's global share of semiconductors will be reduced to zero by 2030. This is clearly not the outcome that Japan wants to see.
Therefore, in order to return to the leading position of a major semiconductor country, in addition to increasing investment and policy support in recent years, Japan has also actively attracted TSMC, Samsung, Intel and other industry leaders to build factories in Japan.
Not only that, Japan has promoted Toyota, NTT, Sony and other 8 Japanese companies to jointly set up a new wafer company, Rapidus, aiming at advanced processes, joining hands with IBM and IMEC, and plans to mass-produce the most advanced 2-nanometer chips in 2027.
However, it is worth reminding that although Japan still has a great presence in the field of key semiconductor materials and equipment, it lags far behind in advanced manufacturing processes.
According to industry insidersJapan's state-of-the-art fabs use 40nm design rules, about 10 years behind the world's leading TSMC and Samsung. The challenge of making the leap from 40nm to 2nm is not ordinary.
TSMC CEO Wei Zhejia also said that if an enterprise or country wants to develop by leaps and bounds, it cannot be said that it is impossible, but it is quite difficult.
But Japan is clearly not deterred, and as part of the Rapidus project, strategic partner IBM is training about 100 experienced Japanese engineers in Albany, N.Y., to help them quickly master U.S. high-end chip expertise.
The occurrence of this series of actions is inevitably indispensable for capital investment, which is also the root of Japan's repeated increase in betting.
According to incomplete statistics, in less than three years, Japan has allocated about 4 trillion yen ($26.7 billion) to support the semiconductor industry.
Overall, there is nothing wrong with Japan betting on the semiconductor industry and seeking a new engine for economic development, but it is difficult to say whether it will have the last laugh in the face of fierce external competition.
Author: Hong Xiaodou.