Lessons learned from the Japanese chip industry

In the chip field that has received much attention, China and the United States continue to make efforts, and competition in the global chip field is becoming increasingly fierce. At the same time, Japan, which once held a leading edge in the global semiconductor industry, is gradually declining. From "half of the country" to "flooding," Japan may be squeezed out of the world's first camp of semiconductors.

According to Reuters' Chinese website, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry recently released a document showing that Japan’s industrial share in the global chip manufacturing field has dropped from 50% to 10% after the “lost 30 years” of the economy, and it is expected to be by 2030. In 2010, Japan’s market share in the global chip industry may drop to zero. Japanese officials worry that Japan will be completely squeezed out of this market.

　　Data from consulting agencies confirm that the above concerns are not groundless. According to data from IC Insights, a well-known semiconductor consulting organization, in 1990, Japan accounted for 50% of the global chip industry's market share, but now Japan's market share is only 6%.

　　 Japan, which once "leaded" in the global chip industry, is watching the gradual loss of former customers to competitors. Not only that, Japan used to be the representative of the "cut-edge technology" of the global chip manufacturing industry, and now this leading position is also being lost.

　　In sharp contrast with Japan, China and the United States continue to exert their efforts in the field of chips. According to data recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, in July this year, my country's output of integrated circuit products reached 31.6 billion pieces, an increase of 41.3% year-on-year; from January to July, the output of integrated circuit products reached 203.6 billion pieces, an increase of 47.3% year-on-year.

　　 More importantly, my country's integrated circuit industry has not only achieved "quantitative change", but is also striving to achieve "qualitative change." Although the new crown pneumonia epidemic continues to spread globally, causing certain difficulties and increasing various uncertainties, the production capacity of my country's high value-added industries has grown rapidly. In July alone, my country's computer, communications and other electronic equipment manufacturing industry grew by 13%. Over the years, my country has been working hard to increase the share of added value directly created by the high-tech industry in the country. Today, my country’s chip output has hit record highs, allowing the industry to see the hope of development in my country’s chip field.

　　Data shows that driven by technological innovation, during the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period, the compound annual growth rate of my country's IC design industry reached 23.4%. At the same time, my country's integrated circuit field has been rapidly promoted in basic research, application technology, product research and development, and the industry has also been fully deployed. my country’s self-developed chips have been widely used in Beidou satellites, supercomputers and other fields. At the industrial level, Chinese companies have mastered part of the industry's voice through self-research and acquisition.

Look at the United States again. In May of this year, the United States announced that it would invest US$52 billion in the production and research of US semiconductor chips within five years, including US$39 billion in production and R&D funds and US$10.5 billion in project implementation funds. These investments will be used The National Semiconductor Technology Center, the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Project, and other research and development projects may bring 7 to 10 new factories to the United States. This has greatly increased the enthusiasm of foundries, so major chip manufacturers are actively seeking this subsidy, including Samsung and TSMC. Not only that, the CEO of American chip company Intel met with US government officials to promote a multi-billion dollar chip investment plan.

This has also aroused the concerns of the Japanese government. As the United States attracts Asian chip manufacturing giants such as TSMC to the United States or encourages American chip manufacturers to return to the United States to build factories, Japan’s remaining semiconductor segment companies may also leave Japan. America. According to a Reuters report, Kazumi Nishikawa, the head of the IT industry department of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry believes that although companies may continue to build factories in Japan and export abroad in the short term, "suppliers are usually as close as possible." This change may not happen immediately, but "it may happen in the long run."

　　In order to retain these companies, Japan needs chip foundries to purchase the chips, machinery and chemicals it produces. It must also ensure a stable supply of semiconductors for Japanese auto companies and electronic equipment manufacturers. In response, the Japanese cabinet approved a technology revitalization strategy proposed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan to ensure that Japan has enough chips to compete in the technical fields that will promote future economic growth, including artificial intelligence, high-speed 5G connections, and autonomous vehicles. . One of the measures is to turn Japan into a data center in Asia. Such a center will generate huge demand for semiconductors, which in turn will attract chip manufacturers to build factories in Japan.

　　 However, no matter how perfect the strategy is, the Japanese government can’t hold back the shyness of the Japanese government. So far, the Japanese government has allocated US$450 million to strengthen the technology supply chain, help companies solve the shortage of chips and other components during the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and promote 5G transformation. However, compared with the US$54 billion investment in the chip field, the EU's US$159 billion in supporting the digital economy, and the US$450 billion investment in companies such as South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix, this is obviously a “little insignificant”.

　　 From dominating the world to the present day, the decline of the Japanese semiconductor industry did not happen overnight. In fact, since the 1980s, the Japanese chip industry has fallen behind, and the main reason for the backwardness of the Japanese chip industry is its excessive dependence on the United States. Analysts pointed out that although Japan now masters some of the production technology of semiconductor materials and key equipment, such technology obviously cannot guarantee that Japan will always have the dominant power. The decline of the Japanese chip industry once again sounded the alarm. The high-tech industry wants Sustainable development must take the road of independent innovation. (Nash)

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