Japanese Government Expects 10 Years of Fidelity in Return for Subsidies to Chipmakers

As we know, the Japanese government has offered some subsidies for the TSMC/Sony joint venture to build a chip fab in the Kumamoto Prefecture, but now it seems like the Japanese government has decided to ask for assurances. The Japanese government is said to have put aside US$5.2 billion, a relatively small amount even compared to India, to help semiconductor manufacturers that want to build new fabs in Japan. Of that, US$3.49 million is already said to be earmarked for the TSMC/Sony joint venture, in exchange for around 10 years of production in Japan.

The rules are apparently not quite finalised as yet, as the government is said to be getting public comments on the specific rules that should apply to the subsidies. One of the conditions could be that the foundry would have to ramp up production in times of shortages, others might include the protection of key Japanese technologies, or ongoing investment into the fab(s), although the latter is usually something that is done simply out of good business practice. Time will tell how things play out, but it seems like the Japanese government has given a bit more thought to its subsidies than what has been announced by some other nations so far.