The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI) announced recently that the country aims to triple its total sales target for domestic semiconductors and related parts and materials from the current level to about JPY 15 trillion ($112.93 billion) in 2030. 

According to METI, in 2020, Japan's related total sales were about JPY 5 trillion, taking about 10% of the global market share. The proposed target for 2030 would be doubling the performance of 2020. METI added that, over the next 10 years, another JPY 10 trillion should be raised and invested by the public and private sectors in order to achieve this goal, Kallanish learns. 

Besides accelerating the development of 2-nanometer advanced semiconductors that have not been put into practical use in Japan, METI will also accelerate the development of semiconductors used for controlling electric vehicles and those designed for memory storage used by smartphones and data centres. METI also says it will improve the design of the semiconductors and the related technologies. 

It says amid major changes in the economic and security environment due to factors such as the confrontation between the United States and China, it is now focusing on providing a stable supply of semiconductors that are indispensable for next-generation industries such as autonomous driving and artificial intelligence.

Meanwhile, it also released the draft to ban 23 types of exports of industry-leading semiconductor equipment. This policy will be amended in May and officially implemented in July. So far, it is in the public comment stage. The policy is considered as a way to block China's participation in related global trade.