Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged more than US$65 billion ($86.79 billion) of fresh support for the nation’s semiconductor and artificial intelligence sector as Tokyo looks to keep up with a global spending spree on cutting-edge tech.
Ishiba said he hoped public aid of more than JPY10 trillion ($87 billion) for the sector by fiscal 2030 would serve as a catalyst to generate public and private investment of more than JPY50 trillion over the next 10 years.
The new funding framework, separate from previously earmarked funds worth roughly JPY4 trillion, will be sketched out in an upcoming economic stimulus package with an aim to generate an economic impact of about JPY160 trillion, according to a draft of the package seen by Bloomberg.
The additional funding will help Tokyo narrow the gap with global powers on chip support. The US and its allies are racing to keep ahead of China in artificial intelligence-powering semiconductor capabilities, a domain that policymakers now see as essential for economic security.
President Joe Biden’s 2022 Chips and Science Act promises a total of US$39 billion in grants for chipmakers as well as loans and guarantees worth an additional US$75 billion plus tax credits of up to 25%.
Beijing is likely pouring much more into its chip sector. China, which leads the world in the number of chip plants under construction, has been beefing up what’s known as the Big Fund to oversee state investments in companies such as local chipmaking champions Semiconductor Manufacturing International and Huawei Technologies.
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Tokyo’s ramping up of support for the sector is also based on the need to fuel economic growth at the national and regional levels. Speaking at a press briefing Monday after winning a vote in parliament to stay on as premier, Ishiba said he wanted to spread positive examples of regional revitalisation like TSMC’s chip plant in Kumamoto across the nation.
Global chip demand is expected to triple to JPY150 trillion over the next 10 years, and the framework aims to provide public aid of more than JPY10 trillion via methods including, outsourcing, financial support and legislative measures to boost predictability for private companies, according to the draft.
A previous goal of reaching JPY10 trillion in chip-sector investment set by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida relied on private sector support in addition to public money. Under Kishida, Japan already earmarked about JPY4 trillion in extra budgets to revive its chip sector, including JPY920 billion for Rapidus in Hokkaido. Rapidus aims to mass produce advanced logic chips by 2027.
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The new framework will be separate from the JPY4 trillion, Industry Minister Yoji Muto said Tuesday.
“Chips are not limited to Rapidus,” Muto said. “The process will be about considering how we will approach the next-generation semiconductor market from now on.”
The government won’t raise taxes to fund the new framework, Muto said, adding that details are still being hammered out. Ishiba said he would discuss the funding of the plans with the various ministries, but he wouldn’t pay for the measures through deficit-financing bonds.
Earlier local media reports suggested the government was looking for a new way of providing funding for Japan’s semiconductor sector. Ishiba’s government is planning to issue bonds backed by assets it holds, including NTT shares, to provide subsidies to semiconductor companies, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Nov 1.
