Japan aims to revive domestic semiconductor industry with support from TSMC
Talk about national self-sufficiency in terms of meeting domestic demand for semiconductor components began to be heard more often not only against the backdrop of a trade war but also a pandemic. The American authorities persuaded TSMC to build a plant in Arizona, and now the Japanese government is trying to follow their example.
It is reported by Bloomberg with reference to the Japanese edition of Yomiuri. According to the source, the Japanese authorities are ready to involve the Taiwanese company TSMC in joint projects with Japanese manufacturers. It is assumed that TSMC will share advanced lithographic technologies with Japanese partners, as well as build one or more factories in the country. For these needs, the Japanese government is ready to allocate billions of dollars of targeted funding.
TSMC this year announced plans to build a 5nm facility in Arizona for US customers to be operational by 2024. The complex economy of the project forces TSMC to rely on government subsidies, and all related infrastructure will have to be developed with the support of other companies. It is difficult to say what arguments the Japanese authorities will have in negotiations with TSMC, but it is already clear that such initiatives are more political in nature than economic expediency.
