The Japanese business magazine Nihon Keizai (Nikkei) reported on the 4th that Samsung Electronics is planning to establish a new semiconductor development base in Yokohama, Japan. It is said that Samsung will invest more than 30 billion yen (approximately 297.1 billion won) to maintain a prototype line of advanced semiconductor devices in Yokohama City.
Nihon Keizai said that Samsung will also use subsidies from the Japanese government to conduct joint research with Japanese materials and manufacturing equipment manufacturers. It was also expected that the strengthening of the Korea-Japan semiconductor industry linkage would gain more momentum as the base of Korea’s top companies entered Japan.
According to US research firm Gartner, Samsung’s semiconductor sales in 2022 will be 9 trillion yen, ranking second in the world after Taiwan’s TSMC. With TSMC establishing a development base in Ibaraki Prefecture and building a production base in Kumamoto Prefecture, two of the world’s top semiconductor companies will open R&D bases in Japan, Nihon Keizai explained.
According to the report, Samsung currently has a research center for home appliances in Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama-shi, but it will also establish a new semiconductor-specialized development base at the same time. It aims to start maintenance within this year and operate within 2025. This is expected to create hundreds of jobs in the region. However, Samsung declined to comment on the matter.
According to Nihon Keizai, Samsung has applied for subsidies for the construction of semiconductor facilities from the Japanese government. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has a policy to subsidize investment, including foreign companies, and has provided subsidies to TSMC and Micron Technology of the United States. If Samsung’s application is accepted, the subsidy amount is expected to exceed 10 billion yen.
This time, Samsung is organizing a semiconductor device assembly and prototype line with a three-dimensional structure. The plan is to enhance production technology through joint research with Japanese material and equipment manufacturers with high technological prowess, and to cooperate with Japanese suppliers in the development and verification of constituent materials.
Nihon Keizai said, “Relations between Korea and Japan have been improving rapidly since South Korean President Seok-Yeol Yun’s visit to Japan in March, making it a good environment for Samsung, a Korean company, to establish a new development base.” Cooperation in the economic field is strengthened in the form of taking the strengths of both sides.”
The world is fighting over the supremacy of semiconductors, such as the United States and China. In the case of Japan, it secured a subsidy budget to revive the semiconductor industry, attracted foreign semiconductor companies such as TSMC, and led the establishment of Rapidus, which aims to mass-produce advanced semiconductors. Nihon Keizai stated, “In the future, strengthening ties with the US, Korea, and Taiwan will be the key to growth.”
Source: Donga
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