Japan plans to budget 350 billion yen ($2.38 billion) in a research collaboration with the US on the development of next-generation semiconductors, Report informs referring to Nikkei Asia.
The spending is included in a secondary supplementary budget bill for the current fiscal year that will also include 450 billion yen toward bringing production hubs for advanced chips to Japan as well as 370 billion yen for securing materials essential for manufacturing.
The joint research hub will be established by the end of the year with the goal of developing and putting in place the ability to mass produce advanced semiconductors with circuit line widths of 2 nanometers by the latter half of the decade. The finer the circuit, the higher the chip performance.
Names of participating Japanese companies and other details will be announced this month. The University of Tokyo, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and science institute Riken will participate as will companies and research institutions in the U.S. and Europe.
IBM, the US company that former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Koichi Hagiuda visited in May, is among the candidates for participation.