Vice President Kamala Harris is looking for new investments and partnerships as she sits down with Japanese technology executives, armed with a new law that boosts U.S. support for computer chip manufacturing.
Harris was meeting with the CEOs on Wednesday, a reflection of the administration's focus on boosting semiconductor manufacturing and expanding the supply chain for critical materials.
With China investing in computer chips of its own, the U.S. is working to strengthen its technology relationships with South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.
The legislation signed by President Joe Biden, known as the CHIPS and Science Act, includes $52 billion for grants and incentives for semiconductor companies, plus a 25% tax credit when they invest in U.S. facilities. There's about $200 billion to support research programs over the next decade.
Jimmy Goodrich, the vice president for global policy at the Semiconductor Industry Association, said there is no one country or company that can do everything on its own. There's a big opportunity and a lot of space for future investment when it comes to Japan, he said. Japan was once a world leader in computer chip manufacturing, but its status has eroded over the last two decades, and the country is worried about falling behind.
Japan has set up its own fund to support semiconductor production, much like the United States has done. Substitutes for a new factory in Kumamoto, in the country's southwest, are provided for $3.3 billion out of $4.3 billion.
The facility is scheduled to begin production by the end of 2024, and it is a partnership between the Denso Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
The companies that are participating in the meeting with Harris are Tokyo Electron, Nikon, Hitachi High Tech Group, Fujitsu Limited, Micron and others.
When Biden was in Japan earlier this year, the two nations agreed to work together on computer chips, including through a joint group focused on developing more powerful technologies.
There are worries that if Japan is slow to act, the fruits of the Biden initiative may be snatched up by another Asian ally, South Korea.
The Japanese minister for economy, trade and industry, Yasutoshi Nishimura, stressed the U.S.-Japanese alliance on semiconductors, energy, and other issues.
In recent meetings with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, Nishimura has promised this year to set up a facility for semiconductor chips research in Japan and expand the partnership on semiconductors with other allies, including Europe and Taiwan.
According to Atsushi Sunami, who teaches at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, or GRIPS, in Tokyo, Japan may not get involved in defense studies due to the drawbacks to Japan tackling advanced semiconductor technology.
That view comes from Japan's role in World War II and the prevalent pacifist views in Japan and international circles that came after its defeat. Sunami stressed that a quick rethinking was in order, and the U.S. moves, given the U.S.-Japanese alliance, could be an opportunity for Japan.
As the U.S. - China hegemonic competition escalates, Japan hopes to position itself in the jockeying for international standards and rule-making, and the strategic formation of alliances among nations, as well as among companies, will be critically meaningful, he said in a report earlier this year.