Tokyo is also the international supplier of photoresist coating and premium aluminum electrolytic capacitors, which are the important requirement for cutting-edge chip production.
Tokyo-based global semiconductor maker Rapidus has stated that the ongoing construction of the new chip plant in Hokkaido will be completed by April 2025. The massive production shortage of chips since the pandemic has urged Rapidus to set up the unit. The Rapidus consortium was established in 2022, backed by funding assistance from the Japanese government and eight Japanese companies, including Sony and Toyota.
Numerous sectors, from automobiles to smartphones and gaming consoles, have invested billions of dollars in chip manufacturing. In this regard, Japan’s minister for economy, trade, and industry has visited the new production facility for inspection and supervision, where Rapidus CEO Atsuyoshi Koike has said that 30 percent of the test production lines are already done.
Japan’s prominence in the semiconductor industry isn’t there anymore but it is a huge supplier of equipment, materials, and chemicals worldwide. In this regard, the chip firms in Japan hold a significant global market share, accounting for 32 percent in equipment manufacturing and 56 percent in materials. Tokyo is also an international supplier of photoresist coating and premium aluminium electrolytic capacitors, which are essential requirements for cutting-edge chip production.
Japan’s minister has also added that the government will do everything necessary to make Rapdus’s operation successful in this financial year. The company aims to manufacture 2-nanometer chips at the new unit with an investment of $32 billion, including research and development.
