Japan's new chipmaker seeks to break free from 'lost decade'

Nikkei Asia ^

[FarCenter]

TOKYO -- Japan unveiled Friday its latest attempt to create a national champion in cutting-edge semiconductors: a company named Rapidus that targets mass production in 2027.

Toyota Motor and NTT are among the eight companies investing in the project, which hopes to succeed where other government-backed initiatives have failed.

Japan sees domestic production of semiconductors as vital to its economic security, particularly because dependence on supplier Taiwan poses geopolitical risks. This last-ditch effort follows a lost decade in the 2010s, when Japan failed to invest in its once-thriving industry.

This is the "last chance" to make a comeback, said Rapidus President Atsuyoshi Koike, who recently headed memory chip maker Western Digital Japan.

Rapidus plans 5 trillion yen ($36 billion) in capital spending and other investment over a decade. The eight companies will invest a total of 7.3 billion yen, with the government offering 70 billion yen in subsidies.

The chipmaker will focus on semiconductors that serve as the brains of self-driving cars and in other applications of artificial intelligence.

Rapidus aims to make chips with 2-nanometer technology in Japan in 2027. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and South Korea's Samsung Electronics have established mass production technology at the 3-nm level and plan to mass-produce at the 2-nm level in 2025.

"In five years, we will have state-of-the-art foundry operations in Japan," Koike said.

Tetsuro Higashi, former president of chipmaking equipment supplier Tokyo Electron, serves as chairman of Rapidus.

[FarCenter]

If enough countries reorganize their supply chains to avoid Taiwan, Taiwa will fall into China's hands like a ripe plum.

[algore]

This should not be really difficult at first.

Most of the chips used in cars do not need to be the latest tech, in fact they are 10 or more years behind.

sure if they need the latest self driving type processor they are not making that for a few years, but hopefully they own their chip designs and it should not be that hard.

I think the Japanese auto makers have learned something the Germans already knew

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2022-11-10/germany-blocks-chinese-acquisition-of-auto-chip-fab-101963247.html

[Wilhelm Tell]

How dependent are other countries on China for the raw materials to make chips? If they have to rely on China for a lot of raw materials, that would be a big problem.

[House Atreides]

“ Japan sees domestic production of semiconductors as vital to its economic security, particularly because dependence on supplier Taiwan poses geopolitical risks. This last-ditch effort follows a lost decade in the 2010s, when Japan failed to invest in its once-thriving industry.…”
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Good move, Japan. Better late than never.

[TigersEye]

If enough countries reorganize their supply chains to avoid Taiwan, Taiwa will fall into China's hands like a ripe plum.

Perhaps. It would also mean better national security for the U.S. if all of our semi-conductor needs weren't in one basket.

[The Duke]

Give me a good ol’ 747 Op Amp and I’ll conquer the world!

[PIF]

If enough countries reorganize their supply chains to avoid Taiwan, Taiwa will fall into China’s hands like a ripe plum.

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Worked well for the Russians in Ukraine ... oh ....