Japan Needs Billions Now to Stem Chip Decline, Top Advisor Warns
- Funding should start with a 2021 extra budget, Higashi says
- Building world class industry could take a decade, he says
Tetsuro Higashi
Photographer: Junko Kimura/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Japan must put at least a trillion yen ($9 billion) toward chip development this fiscal year and trillions more after that, if it is to have any hope of reviving its national industry, according to the government’s lead adviser on its new semiconductor strategy.
Anything less won’t be enough, given the high cost of chip factories and how far Japan lags behind South Korea and Taiwan in advanced manufacturing, according to Tetsuro Higashi, chairman emeritus at gearmaker Tokyo Electron Ltd. and head of an expert panel advising the government.