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Automotive to Al: Why Japan’s Semiconductor Market Is Being Transformed by Electrification, Robotics and Data Centres

Japan once ruled the semiconductor world in the 1980s. Then it slipped into a long quiet phase while the US, Korea and Taiwan sprinted ahead. Now the silence is over. Japan is stepping back into the race, not with noise but with a very intentional strategy. And the hint is right there in METI’s 2025 White Paper, which puts digital transformation, semiconductors and supply chain resilience at the center of national priorities. When a ministry spells it out like that, you know the country is done watching from the sidelines. Japan is not chasing the old memory chip crown anyway. It is going after the high value zones where precision and reliability matter. Power semiconductors for the new wave of electric mobility. Edge AI for the robotics boom. High performance…