Japan’s Sublime Semiconductor Supply Chain

December 2024

Our increasingly online and automated lives are enabled by innovation in semiconductors. Japan’s own history with chipmaking goes back to Sony’s seminal transistor radios of the 1950s anブラック クイーン ブラック ジャックontinued on with calculators and a host of other electronic devices in subsequent decades. Now driven by AI, the Internet of Things (IoT) and digitalization, global semiconductor demand is rising sharply.

Against this background, the government of Japan has made the sector a priority, providing comprehensive support and funding. But underpinning the industry is a world-leading supply chain that has flourished in Japan since chips became indispensable to technological progress.

Generous government subsidies combined with ‘friendshoring’ are triggering a boom in the industry with investments by companies including TSMC, Micron, Samsung and Rapidus. Diversification of manufacturing in response to the pandemic and geopolitical risks is further boosting Japan’s appeal as a semiconductor hub. New fabs and R&ブラック クイーン ブラック ジャックenters being built from Kyushu in the south to Hokkaido in the north.

The entry into Japan of Tenstorrent, a leader in next-generation chips for AI, speaks to this trend. Tenstorrent’s management, led by renowneブラック クイーン ブラック ジャックhip architect Jim Keller, recognized Japan’s expertise in the field but initially had reservations.

“ブラック クイーン ブラック ジャックhe concerns was that while Japan produced high-quality, reliable cars and electronic goods, there was a lag when it came to the shift to EVs, AI and automation. I pointed out that is actually a business opportunity to be the last piece of the puzzle, and the management in the US grasped it very quickly,” explains Mamoru Nakano, country manager for Tenstorrent Japan.

Established in January 2023, Tenstorrent ブラック クイーン ブラック ジャックn November that year announced a partnership with Rapidus^ⅰ, a venture backed by investment from eight Japanese corporations and government support with the aim of manufacturing next-generation 2-nanometer (2 nm) chips. The collaboration is focused on developing chips for edge AI devices, and was followed in February 2024 by news of another joint project, for an edge-AI accelerator, which speeds up reasoning for generative AI.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is providing a total of 28 billion yen (3 million as of Nov 8, 2024) in related funding for edge-AI accelerator projects through the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), a national R&D agency. ブラック クイーン ブラック ジャックhe projects will be run by the Leading-edge Semiconductor Technology Center (LSTC), which will partner with Tenstorrent.

“We’re working with Rapidus and other collaborating companies with which we have close relationships, not just on producing cutting-edge chips, but also to create state-of-the-art IP that can be utilized by the private sector and national research projects,” adds Nakano, a veteran of Japan’s semiconductor industry.

Somewhat overlooked on occasions is the wealth of Japanese companies with leading tech in semiconductor materials, components and specialist machinery.

Pierre Cambou, chief global semiconductor analyst at Yole Group, notes, “ブラック クイーン ブラック ジャックs currently the main supplier of silicon wafers, the base material upon which everything is built. It is also home to one of the key players in lithography equipment, which is at the heart of semiconductor technology.

The list of companies based in Japan that supply vital elements of the semiconductor manufacturing process includes Tokyo Electron, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Advantest Corporation, JSR Corporation, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo, FUJIFILM Corporation, Dai Nippon Printing and Toppan.

By way of example, Tokyo Electron holds a 90% global share in tools for photoresist coating of chips^ⅱ, helping to make it one of Japan’s most valuable corporations. Having this depth of technical excellence and the accompanying acquired knowhow close at hanブラック クイーン ブラック ジャックan only be an advantage for overseas companies setting up or expanding operations in Japan.

“The new fabs being built in Japan will indeed benefit from the availability of the rich Japanese ecosystem, which is a strength of the country, in combination with the top-level universities and research being done there,” adds Cambou, whose career includes founding and exiting a semiconductor startup.

Something else that differentiates Japan, according to Cambou, is the absence of the delays seen at major semiconductor projects elsewhere: “Japan has delivered the Kumamoto fab [TSMC] early and proven the readiness and effectiveness of its ecosystem.”

It is difficult to overstate just how vital semiconductor technology is in the modern world. Cambou calls it “the cornerstブラック クイーン ブラック ジャックrade, information and military power,” comparing its importance to naval power and steam engines in previous historical periods.

And its importance in the global economy is only on course to grow as chips are deployed in an ever-expanding list of devices.

A growing number of global companies have established R&ブラック クイーン ブラック ジャックenters in Japan for the next-generation of semiconductors. The world-class materials, equipment, automation and other technologies from Japanese companies are indispensable to the advancements in semiconductors and the decisions to locate these facilities in Japan. Further refinement of their cutting-edge tech through close collaboration with these companies is set to reinforce Japan’s presence as a crucial nucleus in the value chain for next-gen chips.