In the US-Japan semiconductor alliance, an advanced manufacturing process in Japan, which surpasses the mass production of 2nm advanced semiconductors by Samsung Electronics and TSMC in 2025, has begun.
On the 15th, Nikkei said, “The US and Japan governments are starting to select private companies for joint development of high-tech semiconductors, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is providing subsidies for facility investment and R&D. Tokyo Electron and Canon, which are equipment makers, are participating in the research lab, and IBM, which succeeded in test production of 2nm last year, and Intel, which is conducting 2nm R&D, are participating in the project.”
Nikkei continued, "The two countries are focusing on the development of high-tech semiconductors that are comparable to the miniaturization process of 2 nm line width. It will influence the performance of weapons and strengthen the safety guarantee system.”
The Wall Street Journal reported on the 10th that "Samsung Electronics' foundry (semiconductor consignment production) improved the yield (pass rate) of 4-nano process semiconductors more slowly than expected, so chips were not supplied as promised, and key customers such as Qualcomm and Nvidia turned their orders to TSMC. ", and reported on Samsung Electronics' technical problems.
The U.S. and Japan signed the “basic principles for semiconductor cooperation” at the summit between the two countries last month, and Korea started building Samsung Electronics’ Hyundai Motors’ U.S. factories and expanding U.S. subsidiaries on the occasion of the Korea-U.S. summit.
During a meeting with the Commerce Minister during Foreign Minister Park Jin's visit to the United States, the press release from the Ministry of Commerce said, "Secretary Raymondo expressed appreciation for Korea's support and strong partnership for the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). “Secretary Raymondo also expressed interest in continuing cooperation with the Korean government on export restrictions in response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine,” he said.
The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said in a press release on the same day, “The two Ministers had a wide range of measures to faithfully implement the agreements in the areas of economic security and substantive cooperation, such as semiconductor cooperation, supply chain stability, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), and cooperation in the advancement of nuclear power plants into third countries. We had a wide exchange of opinions,” he said.
Japan's exports rose 15.8% in May from 7.25 trillion yen to JPY 7.2521 trillion in steel exports to Korea, up 60.2%, and semiconductor and electronic components to Taiwan increased by 21.1%.
Japan's imports increased by 48.9% in May, while crude oil (2.4 times) from the UAE, coal (3.6 times), and liquefied natural gas (2.5 times) from Australia increased intensively, resulting in a trade deficit of 2.3847 trillion yen.
"I hope that the GSOMIA (Korea-Japan Military Information Protection Agreement) will normalize as soon as possible along with improvements in Korea-Japan relations," Park said at a press conference with US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln in Washington on the 13th.