In last year’s supplementary budget, the Japanese government stated that it would provide approximately 1.5 trillion yen in subsidies for the artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor fields in 2025 to strengthen the country’s competitiveness in key technology fields. The funds are mainly used to support Rapidus, which aims to localize next-generation semiconductors, and covers the research and development of advanced technologies such as chip design, data centers, autonomous vehicles and robots.
Rapidus aims to achieve mass production of advanced chips in 2027. It has currently established technical cooperation with IMEC of Belgium and IBM of the United States to jointly develop 2-nanometer node technology. According to last year's plan, the Japanese government will provide 800 billion yen this year to support its research and development and business operations to make up for the 4 trillion yen funding gap.
In addition, the Japanese government plans to invest 10 trillion yen to support the semiconductor and AI industries by fiscal year 2030, with the goal of attracting a total investment of more than 50 trillion yen from the public and private sectors in the next 10 years. Another 160 billion yen will be allocated to stimulate chip design companies, and the subsidy program will last for five years.
Key stakeholders include former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Amari Akira and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Both of them emphasized that Japan should play a central role in the global semiconductor supply chain.
Japan’s Ruling Party Eyes $6.5 Billion Per Year for Chips, AI Regarding the Japanese government’s 2025 budget proposal for subsidies related to economic fields Shigeru Ishiba: Japan plays a central role in the global semiconductor supply chain Japan will allocate another nearly 10 billion US dollars to support the semiconductor industry to increase chip production and AI. Further reading: Japan’s Rapidus announces that 2nm has received support from major technology manufacturers, intensifying competition with TSMC and Samsung Rapidus points out that 2 nanometers are necessary for artificial intelligence, and it will also become an emerging Japanese force in semiconductors