Japan is allocating about $5.2 billion of its fiscal 2021 supplementary budget to support advanced semiconductor manufacturers, Nikkei has learned. From the report: The government plans to invest about 400 billion yen in a new factory set up by the world’s largest contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in Kumamoto prefecture, southwest Japan. The remaining 200 billion yen will go toward setting up other new factories, with projects under consideration including by U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology and Japan’s Kioxia Holdings. The Japanese government is considering making semiconductors a new area of focus under a law targeting companies developing high-speed 5G technologies, meaning it would approve investment plans for their factories under the revised law. […] The 600 billion yen fund would cover subsidies over several years. Companies would receive support under the condition that they would increase production when there is supply shortage, as the Japanese government hopes to ensure a stable domestic chip supply.
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