Japan will cooperate with the United States to establish a local 2nm semiconductor manufacturing base as early as the fiscal year 2025. The two governments will provide support under the bilateral chip technology partnership. Private companies of the two countries will conduct research on design and mass production.
According to a report by Nikkei Asia, Japanese companies can form a new company with American companies, or Japanese companies can establish a new manufacturing center. The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry will partially subsidize R&D expenses and capital expenditures. Joint research will begin as early as this summer, with a research and production center set up between fiscal years 2025-2027.
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Moreover, 2nm chips will be used in products such as quantum computers, data centers, and cutting-edge smartphones. The chips also reduce power consumption and reduce carbon footprint. The size of the chip can also determine the performance of military equipment such as fighter jets and missiles. From this perspective, 2nm chips are directly related to national security.
Currently, TSMC is in a leading position in developing 2nm chip mass production technology. It is building a chip factory in Kumamoto, Japan, but the factory will only produce chips in the 10nm to 20nm range of more mature processes. Japan ensures stable supply by realizing domestic production of next-generation semiconductors.
In early May, Japan and the United States signed the Basic Principles of Semiconductor Cooperation. The two sides will discuss the details of the cooperation framework at the upcoming “2+2” cabinet economic officials meeting. Last week, Japan’s cabinet approved Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s “new capitalism” agenda, outlining plans to build a design and manufacturing base over the course of the decade through a bilateral public-private partnership with the United States.
In Japan, a research laboratory of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in the city of Tsukuba is hosting a collaboration to develop manufacturing technologies for advanced semiconductor production lines, including those for 2nm processes. Chip-making equipment makers like Tokyo Electron and Canon, as well as IBM, Intel, and TSMC, have all joined the project.
Japan has powerful chip material makers such as Shin-Etsu Chemical and Sumco, while the US has chip-making equipment giant Applied Materials. The collaboration between chipmakers and key suppliers aims to enable mass production technology for 2nm chips.
