National / Politics Jul 20, 2019
by Reiji Yoshida
The foreign minister lambasted the ambassador for rejecting an arbitration panel on wartime labor proposed under the 1965 pact that normalized bilateral ties and settled war compensation issues.
Business Jul 3, 2019
South Korea eyes investing ¥91.8 billion annually in chip supply chain after Japanese export curbs
South Korea will seek to invest 1 trillion won (¥91.8 billion) annually in developing homegrown materials and equipment used to produce microchips, a senior ruling party lawmaker said Wednesday, after Japan tightened curbs on exports of some high-tech materials to the country. Japan said Monday ...
Business / Corporate Jul 2, 2019
U.S. firm Applied Materials agrees to buy Japan's Kokusai Electric to bolster memory chip business
U.S. chip gear maker Applied Materials Inc. agreed Monday to buy Japanese peer Kokusai Electric for $2.2 billion from KKR & Co. as it bets on rising demand for memory chips used in data centers, 5G phones and AI-powered devices. The acquisition comes against the ...
Business / Corporate May 23, 2019
Panasonic to suspend supply of some parts to Huawei in wake of U.S. ban
Panasonic Corp. has decided to halt the supply of some components to Huawei Technologies Co., officials said Thursday, the latest sign that last week's U.S. blacklisting of the Chinese telecoms giant is affecting major Japanese firms. Panasonic is still examining which product shipments run counter ...
Business / Corporate Mar 12, 2019
The obscure firm making iPhones better: Japan's Lasertec masters extreme ultraviolet lithography
by Pavel Alpeyev and Yuki Furukawa
After two decades in development, chipmakers are making a costly bet on a technology that will cram even more transistors onto silicon. Their success may hinge on a little-known company in Yokohama. Lasertec Corp. is the world's sole maker of equipment that tests glass squares ...
Business / Corporate Feb 13, 2019
Toshiba cuts fiscal 2018 profit outlook on sluggish semiconductor sector
Toshiba Corp. on Wednesday sharply downgraded its group operating profit forecast for the fiscal year through March, due mainly to losses and additional costs stemming from its semiconductor manufacturing equipment and energy businesses. Toshiba now expects its group operating profit to stand at ¥20 billion ...
Asia Pacific Nov 5, 2018
Chinese state-backed chipmaker's dreams of dominance face hurdle with U.S. indictment
Chinese state-backed semiconductor maker Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. Ltd. billed itself as a national leader in the tech industry. It planned to drive a shift toward locally made chips and end a heavy reliance on imports, especially from the United States. "The era of ...
Business / Financial Markets | TSE DATA & REPORT Sep 12, 2018
Stocks turned lower on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Wednesday, hurt by selling after the recent market advance. The Nikkei 225 shed 60.08 points, or 0.27 percent, to end at 22,604.61. On Tuesday, it surged 291.60 points. The Topix closed down 7.59 points, or 0.45 percent, at ...
Business / Financial Markets | TSE DATA & REPORT Sep 7, 2018
Nikkei retreats after chip share rout, Trump's reported comments on U.S.-Japan ties
Stocks fell further on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday, led by a rout in semiconductor shares. The 225-issue Nikkei average tumbled 180.88 points, or 0.8 percent, to end at 22,307.06, its worst finish since Aug. 21, after sliding 92.89 points Thursday. The average fell ...
Commentary / World May 5, 2018
Why can't China make decent semiconductors?
by Adam Minter
Although China long ago mastered the art of making products with semiconductors produced elsewhere, it wants to move beyond being a mere assembler.
Business Apr 26, 2018
Nations must develop own core technologies to break U.S. grip on semiconductor chips: Jack Ma
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma argues that Japan, China and other nations need to develop their own semiconductor technology to get around America's grip on the global chip market. The billionaire executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., explaining the e-commerce titan's growing interest in chips, ...
Business / Corporate Mar 13, 2018
With block on Broadcom bid, Trump makes clear U.S. tech interests are 'not for sale'
by David Mclaughlin and Saleha Mohsin
With his swift rejection of Broadcom Ltd.'s hostile takeover of Qualcomm Inc., U.S. President Donald Trump sent a clear signal to overseas investors: Any deal that could give China an edge in critical technology will be swatted down in the name of national security. Although ...