The Japanese government has earmarked ¥10tn ($65bn) of state funding by 2030 to strengthen Japan’s semiconductor and AI chip sector, partly to help secure the country’s supply chains and avoid future global disruptions, and partly to ensure sustainable growth within Japan’s critical semiconductor and technology sectors.
According to multiple reports, including this one from Reuters, it will use the funds to support the mass production of next-generation chips for AI workloads in particular. The government intends the funding, which was announced by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, to be part of a total ¥50tn ($325bn) that will be invested in Japan’s semiconductor sector by public and private investors over the course of the next decade.
One strand of this support is set to be focused on further developing Japanese chip foundry Rapidus, in which the Japanese government has previously invested, alongside companies such as NTT, NEC and SoftBank, and which is collaborating with IBM and the Belgian researcher Imec. Rapidus aims to begin commercial operations on the northern island of Hokkaido in April 2025 and reach mass production by 2027.
The investment plan is part of a broad economic plan set to be approved by the Japanese cabinet on 22 November.
