Tech war: Japan seeks bigger role in global chip supply chain as US tries to sideline China

Name: Leaders of South Korea and Japan commit to stronger ties despite lingering historical disputes
Uploaded: 2023-05-19T15:00:16.000Z
Duration: 3 min 3 s
Description: Leaders of South Korea and Japan commit to stronger ties despite lingering historical disputes

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, Samsung Electronics, as well as Intel Corp and Micron Technology, have pledged investment in Japan

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has accused Washington of using coercion against the other six G7 members

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, centre, and Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, centre-right, pose with the heads of global chip companies. From left to right, Kyung Kye Hyun of Samsung, Patrick Gelsinger of Intel, Mark Liu of TSMC, Sanjay Mehrotra of Micron, and Prabu Raja of Applied Materials, on Thursday in Tokyo. Photo: Kyodo News via AP

Dylan Butts

Published: 11:00pm, 19 May 2023Updated: 3:04am, 20 May 2023

Japan, host of this year’s Group of 7 summit, is seeking a more prominent role in the global semiconductor value chain, as the US and its allies move to limit China’s role in the future chip landscape.

Ahead of the gathering of G7 leaders in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, some of the world’s largest chip makers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, as well as Intel Corp and Micron Technology in the US, have agreed to invest billions of dollars into Japan, a development that is set to boost the country’s importance in the global chip industry.

As part of the pact, Micron said it would invest up to 500 billion yen (US$3.6 billion) over the next few years, with support from the Japanese government. The company said its planned plant in Hiroshima would enable the next wave of advanced chip innovation, such as 1-gamma node memory chips, from 2025.

In a statement, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called Micron’s investment “a great case of Japan-US semiconductor cooperation”.

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Leaders of South Korea and Japan commit to stronger ties despite lingering historical disputes

Micron’s big bets in Japan mark a sharp contrast to its souring relationship with China, where it disbanded its chip design team in Shanghai last year even though the market accounted for 11 per cent of its sales. Micron products are currently being investigated by Beijing on national security concerns.

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