Japan earmarks US$300mil to fire up chip research at home

FILE PHOTO: Semiconductor chips are seen on a printed circuit board in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo/File Photo

TOKYO: Japan will spend as much as 45 billion yen (US$300mil) to back a research group developing advanced chip technology, part of a national push to catch up in semiconductor manufacturing.

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry (Meti) said it approved outsourcing research on cutting-edge fabrication tech to Leading-edge Semiconductor Technology Centre (LSTC).