Press Conference by Minister Saito (Excerpt)

*Note: This is a provisional translation for reference purposes only.

9:03 to 9:09 a.m.
Friday, June 7, 2024
Press Conference Room, METI Main Building

Opening Remarks

None

Question-and-Answer Session

Support for the semiconductor industry

Q: I would like to ask you about support for the semiconductor industry.
At a meeting of the Semiconductor and Digital Industry Strategy Review Council held last week, it was decided to consider a new institutional framework of governmental support related to raising funds for Rapidus. Please tell me specifically what form of framework you have in mind. Also, at an earlier meeting of the Fiscal System Council, held in April at the Ministry of Finance, it was pointed out that the scale of Japan’s support for the semiconductor industry is outstandingly large compared with the support provided by other countries. What is your opinion on that?

A: The Rapidus project is the most important project under our semiconductor policy. So far, we have decided to provide support worth a total of up to 920 billion yen after closely surveying the progress in development and the expenditure necessary for the project through an examination by external experts.

In order to move on to the mass production phase, it is important to expand the raising of funds from the private sector and to develop a framework of support through collaboration between the public and private sectors.

As for the specific activities, we will consider what kind of support, including the support under a new institutional framework, will be necessary while taking into consideration experts’ opinions. In regard to the international comparison data concerning the amount of support for the semiconductor industry that was presented at the April meeting of the Fiscal System Council that you mentioned, I am certainly aware of the international comparison data.

At the meeting of the Semiconductor and Digital Industry Strategy Review Council held at the end of May, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) presented what we considered to be a more appropriate comparison of the international data, which included the amount of support by not only subsidies but also taxation along with coverage of China, a country providing large-scale support for the semiconductor industry. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of inducing investments from companies, we believe that it is meaningless in the first place to compare the scales of support as a proportion of GDP.

In any case, METI regards semiconductors as important strategic goods from the viewpoints of Digital Transformation (DX), Green Transformation (GX), and economic security. For Japan to capture the demand that will significantly grow on a global scale and make it an economic growth driver, it is important to continue providing support. To that end, we would like to hold discussions on what kind of support to provide, as I mentioned earlier.