With the US-China tech rivalry intensifying, the United States is corralling allies Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea into a “Chip4 Alliance” to enhance cooperation among the members.

“Having the four areas in an alliance makes a lot of sense,” Senior Fellow Kiyoteru Tsutsui told the Straits Times, “as each has different strengths: the US in fabless and end products, Taiwan in foundries especially for logic chips, South Korea in memory chips, and Japan in manufacturing equipment and materials.”

Japan claimed half of the global semiconductors market in the 1980s but agreed to a trade deal with Washington, which sought to curtail Tokyo’s economic rise, and end “anti-dumping” practices.

“Japan Inc missed signals for the transition from mainframe computers to PCs to smartphones, while also losing its edge in research and development.” But “leveraging its strengths in manufacturing equipment and materials and establishing greater fabless capacities would likely help consolidate Japan’s position in the supply chain and contribute more to its economic security.”

“Japan, S. Korea seek to secure chips industry amid US-China rivalry,” Straits Times
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japan-s-korea-seek-to-secure-chips-industry-amid-us-china-rivalry

Profile of Senior Fellow Kiyoteru Tsutsui
https://www.tkfd.or.jp/en/experts/detail.php?id=517