US and Japan forge united front in advanced semiconductor R&D

Tokyo — Japan and the US will issue a joint statement on technology co-operation on Friday that will commit them to closer co-operation in research & development (R&D) of advanced chips and other technologies, a Japanese government source said.

Japan’s minister of economy, trade & industry Yasutoshi Nishimura and US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo will meet in Detroit in the US on the sidelines of the 2023 APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri reported earlier. In addition to semiconductors, they will discuss artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum technology, the newspaper added.

They want to deepen ties between research & development hubs in Japan and the US, the Japanese official told Reuters, asking not to be identified because he is not authorised to talk to the media. It will be another incremental step as they map out their future technology co-operation, he added.

As Washington and Tokyo reduce their exposure to Chinese supply chains amid growing tension, they are working together to expand chip manufacturing to ensure access to advanced components that they see as essential for economic growth.

Japan has established a new chipmaker, Rapidus, that is working with IBM to develop advanced logic semiconductors, and is offering subsidies to the US’s  Micron Technology, so it can expand production there.

Japan, along with the Netherlands, has also agreed to match US export controls that will limit the sale of some chipmaking tools in China.

The meeting between Nishimura and Raimondo comes after the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced democracies agreed at a meeting in Hiroshima, Japan to reduce their exposure to China because of its “economic coercion”.

Raimondo on Thursday met China’s minister of commerce Wang Wentao in Washington, where the pair exchanged views on trade, investment and export policies. 

Reuters