Japan to spend $13b to boost domestic chip production

TOKYO, Nov 10 (AFP): Japan's government said on Friday that it plans to spend 2 trillion yen ($13 billion) to boost domestic production of strategically important semiconductors and generative AI technology.
The planned outlays will include 700 billion yen ($4.6 billion) to support the construction of a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufa-cturing Company (TSMC) plant in Kumamoto, the firm's second plant in the southern Japanese region, trade ministry official Motoki Kurita told AFP.
TSMC controls more than half of the world's output of microchips, which are used in everything from smartphones to cars and missiles.
Kurita said the government will also spend 650 billion yen ($4.3 billion) to support Japanese startup Rapidus, which aims to develop next-generation microchips.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet approved the draft supplementary budget for the chip- and AI-related subsidies on Friday as part of a more than $100 billion stimulus package he announced last week.