Japan just put a number on its tech ambitions, and it’s a big one. The country’s government growth strategy council has outlined a target of approximately 370 trillion yen, roughly $2.3 trillion, in combined public and private investment across 17 strategic sectors by fiscal year 2040.
The semiconductor bet
The centerpiece of the strategy is an aggressive push in chip manufacturing. Japan wants to grow domestic semiconductor annual sales from roughly 8 trillion yen to 40 trillion yen, approximately $254 billion, by 2040. That’s a fivefold increase in about 15 years.
Since 2021, Japan has already committed approximately 5.7 trillion yen in semiconductor and AI support. The new 2040 targets extend previous goals that had been set for 2030, essentially stretching the runway while dramatically raising the altitude.
Rapidus Corporation, the Japanese chipmaker attempting to build cutting-edge logic chips domestically, stands as a key beneficiary. The company has already received around 1.7 trillion yen in subsidies. Other major players positioned to benefit include Rohm, Kioxia, Renesas Electronics, Sumco, Fujifilm, and Kyocera.
