Japan’s attempt to once again become a major player in the international semiconductor industry took another step forward in Hokkaido on Friday with a groundbreaking ceremony for a factory to be occupied by Rapidus, a government-backed firm that will produce state-of-the-art chips for next-generation industries.
Rapidus aims to position itself as a prominent worldwide supplier of cutting-edge 2-nanometer-wide semiconductors for 5G communications, quantum computing, self-driving vehicles and digital smart cities.
But despite government backing, questions remain over whether the firm can recruit the highly skilled workers needed to quickly compete with overseas competitors who are also pursuing production of 2-nanometer semiconductors.