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July 07, 2025
 

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CHIPMAKERS

A Rapidus factory construction site in Chitose, Hokkaido, in December
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 21, 2024
Japan’s chip spree aims to kick economy into high gear
The government’s chip strategy aims to triple domestic chip sales to around ¥15 trillion by 2030.
When SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son bought Arm in 2016 for $32 billion, he had grand plans for the company to dominate the nascent market for connected devices, also known as the Internet of Things.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 21, 2024
Softbank’s Arm is not the AI play most people think it is
Today, GPUs are the gold standard for AI development and thus the equivalent of toilet paper during the pandemic.
ASML engineers walk past a High NA EUV tool at ASML’s headquarters in Veldhoven, Netherlands, on Nov. 20, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 20, 2024
Dutch say China seeks military advantage from ASML tools
Netherlands-based ASML, Europe's largest tech firm, dominates the world market for lithography systems, needed by computer chipmakers.
South Korea plans to increase the number of slots in university medical school programs by 2,000 from the current 3,058 next year to alleviate a shortage of doctors.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 19, 2024
For South Korea’s top students, medical school beats chips
Students are enticed by what many see as better job security and higher pay in the medical field.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the SoftBank World event in Tokyo in October.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 17, 2024
Masayoshi Son aims to launch a $100 billion AI chip venture
The SoftBank Group founder is looking to create a chip venture to compete with Nvidia and supply semiconductors essential for AI.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s first Kumamoto plant in the town of Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Feb. 10
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 16, 2024
Japan boosts aid to chip projects amid global race
Prompted by concerns, the government acted swiftly to prevent the potential loss of domestic production bases.
TSMC’s surge propelled Taiwan’s benchmark index to a record high, as expectations of booming demand for artificial intelligence technology drove investor sentiment.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 15, 2024
TSMC soars most since 2020, lifting Taiwan on AI optimism
The company’s surge propelled Taiwan’s benchmark index to a record high, as expectations of booming demand for AI technology drove investor sentiment.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang attends a session of the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 15, 2024
Nvidia overtakes Alphabet, one day after eclipsing Amazon
The AI frenzy has boosted tech stocks associated with the field, but Nvidia stands out for its significant revenue growth.
Renesas Electronics will buy software firm Altium in the biggest acquisition yet of an Australian-listed company by a Japanese buyer.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 15, 2024
Japan chipmaker Renesas to buy software company Altium for $5.9 billion
The move marks the biggest acquisition yet of an Australia-listed company by a Japanese buyer.
Nvidia's shares slipped 0.17% on Tuesday, leaving its stock market value at $1.78 trillion, eclipsing Amazon's $1.75 trillion value after the online shopping and cloud-computing heavyweight's stock declined 2.15%.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 14, 2024
Nvidia market cap threatens Alphabet after overtaking Amazon
The chipmaker's stock market value at the end of Tuesday's trading session was $1.78 trillion, while that of Google's owner was $1.81 trillion.
The Nvidia headquarters in Santa Clara, California
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 13, 2024
Nvidia briefly overtakes Amazon in market value
NVIDIA's market value momentarily surpassed Amazon's on Monday, fueled by soaring demand for its chips used in artificial intelligence computing.
Copies of the Apple Daily newspaper, published by Next Digital Ltd., at the company's printing facility in Hong Kong on Nov. 5, 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2024
In Trump-Biden rematch, the only sure loser is China
Trump’s rhetoric may pressure Biden to take harsher measures in the run-up to election day — bad news for China’s economy and slumping stock market.
Tetsuro Higashi, the chairman of Rapidus, speaks during an interview in Tokyo in February last year.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2024
Japan earmarks ¥45 billion to fire up chip research at home
The funds are part of a major national push to catch up in semiconductor manufacturing.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s new factory in the town of Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, in May. The firm plans to build a second chip fabrication plant in the prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024
TSMC to build second chipmaking plant in Japan with partners
The facility will be close to the first TSMC plant in the Kumamoto Prefecture town of Kikuyo.
Toyota raised its annual net profit forecast to a record high ¥4.5 trillion in the year ending in March.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2024
Toyota raises annual net profit forecast as chip shortage eases
But scandals involving rigged engine and safety tests at subsidiaries led the firm to slightly revise down its sales target for the financial year.
The government will extend subsidies worth as much as ¥242.9 billion for Kioxia and Western Digital to expand memory chip production in Mie and Iwate prefectures.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 6, 2024
Japan extends subsidies to downturn-hit Kioxia and Western Digital
The funding provides underpinning for the two companies, which have been hammered by a slump in the market for NAND flash chips.
The People's Liberation Army's Academy of Military Sciences had used an open-source standard known as RISC-V to reduce malfunctions in chips for cloud computing and smart cars.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 5, 2024
China bets on open-source chips as U.S. export controls mount
RISC-V is free to use and has a simpler outline, often leading to more energy-efficient chips, and users can build atop the framework to suit their needs.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s new factory in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, in May 2023
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jan 29, 2024
Can Japan again master semiconductors to relive its glory days?
Competition in the sector is fierce, with many countries pushing to develop their own capabilities and insulate supply chains from geopolitical tensions.
Environment groups gather to oppose a key LNG terminal that threatened a delicate algal reef, in Taipei in December 2021. If Taipower can’t make sufficient progress on clean-energy generation, the island could potentially lose some of its allure as a destination for chip manufacturing.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 28, 2024
Taiwan’s troubled utility poses risk to chipmakers’ green goals
Political pressures have prevented the state-owned Taipower from passing on costs to customers, while bets on offshore wind have been marred by obstacles.
The U.S. push to undermine Beijing’s semiconductor ambitions has increasingly singled out ASML, drawing the ire of the Dutch company's outgoing head Peter Wennink and some local lawmakers.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 26, 2024
ASML’s China sales surged despite secret Dutch deal with U.S.
The deal, which hasn’t been reported before, stumbled as ASML turned to Beijing to compensate for weak demand elsewhere.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
Tokyo and Kyoto feature among top ‘noctourism’ destinations
Tokyo ranked second after New York and ahead of Dubai and Singapore in a ranking of the top global cities for nighttime tourism.
Global matcha 'obsession' drinks Japan's tea farms dry
Matcha is added to beverages on offer at Kettl Tea in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles on May 20.
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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