Why Japan’s Semiconductor Industry Failed

Japan was once one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturing countries. However, in just a few years, it would be surpassed by its neighbors.

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33 Comments

  1. 黒船の時代から、いつも日本を壊すのはアメリカ。日米同盟とか言ってるけど、日本の隣国、ロシアと中国が攻めて来ても、アメリカは日本を助けない、第二のウクライナにするだけだと思う。

  2. >surpassing EVEN the united states
    As if it is hard to surpass the biggest importer in the production of exported goods

    > japan, a prosperous and economic might
    Yeah, that's totally not true again, Japan has been stagnant for decades and now has stagflation.

  3. Don't forget, the usa also banned Huawei who were becoming number 1 smartphone brand in the world threatening Apple.
    We could see so much innovation in so many sectors if USA didn't exist

  4. un error centrar la produccion de semiconductores solo como negocio, ahora los gringos pagaran caro, ya que entregar la industria de los semiconductores a un estado en disputa como taiwan , se rebela como una estupidez, deberian haber elegido japon o coreaa , el propio estados unidos , o un pais latinoamericano como puerto rico , paises o estados que son basicamente colonias gringas, no elegir tawian un territorio amenazado, y peor aun , cederle gran parte de la industria a china a un pais que consideraban rival y posible enemigo, a EU le falto sentido comun

  5. They started to buy American treasuries (that's like 5% tax on your entire economy), plus tariffs and trade bariers (Japan opened its market but the US closed theirs). Basically the US put an occupied country back to its place in a hierarchy.

  6. I am an engineer from Japan and I am familiar with this history. In the 1970s and 80s, Japan made technological innovations in semiconductor production lines that resulted in product yields that were several orders of magnitude lower than those of U.S. companies during the same period. This enabled Japan to mass-produce semiconductors of higher quality at a much lower cost than U.S. companies. However, this fact could not be disclosed to the outside world because it was a top secret. Therefore, the U.S. did not know that Japan possessed such genuine technology, and began to accuse Japan of dumping cheap semiconductors. It was an accusation on an unimaginable scale. Finally, in 1986, the U.S. unilaterally imposed on Japan the “U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Agreement,” an unequal treaty of the worst kind, threatening Japan with a major economic blow if it did not approve it, and forced Japan to agree. This effectively led to the complete collapse of Japan's semiconductor industry.
    However, Japan was not entirely blameless. At that time, Japan had analyzed and copied the microchip designs of American companies such as Intel, which had spent a great deal of money to design them, and distributed large quantities of such dead copies at low prices, causing astronomical losses to the American companies. However, at that time, there were no laws in either Japan or the U.S. against copying semiconductors. But even so, that was not a fair approach at all. As such, Japan was clearly playing a forbidden game, and the U.S. was equally forceful in its efforts to rein in Japan. In other words, Japan and the U.S. were really at “war” at that time, beating each other up. It was a war of semiconductors. And Japan lost that war once again.
    Today, of course, such history is completely in the past. After decades of reflection, Japan today has changed its direction to cooperate with the U.S. and other countries in the world to develop each other in a fair manner. The Japanese automobile industry has stopped manufacturing cars in Japan and exporting them unilaterally to the U.S., and is now building factories in the U.S. to manufacture cars for American use, employing American workers. By doing so, both Japan and the U.S. can benefit from each other. Of course, Japanese companies in the EU and other countries also do this. If you develop unilaterally by outbidding someone else, it will surely lead to resentment.

  7. Living and breathing in Japan i m here to gv u some more info
    The lost decades he didnt elaborate in the video starts with Japan hving a bubble economy, but where did the bubble came from it came from Japan currency being boosted twice its value in less than 5 years thus makes the economy goes crazy ppl at that time all says investing overseas is like 50%off and it all starts with a Plaza covenant, what plaza u will wonder, of course is the New York Plaza Hotel.
    USA kills the semiconductor market of Japan and kills the economy at the same time, ppl born beyond that era never saw the country being good and thats one of the reasons y Japanese r the most unhappy ppl on earth.

  8. Yes they dominated the chip industry once upon a time but …then along the way they discovered its cheaper to import from china and cost saving too and that i guess caused them to lack

  9. Point of correction, Japan's problems have not to do with the US. It over investment turns to under investment then becomes total loss.
    Over investment means Japan invests in anything that looks promising 70% of those businesses turn to loss, that sends fear to the Japanese company leader to make them stop investment in New projects.
    Second is labor back in the days when the chip needed a lot of manpower. Single chips need about thousands of workers

  10. You cannot only think of America's goodness when you benefit from it. Almost everything in Japan today is given by the United States, both the good and the bad.

  11. Sad, maybe right now we would've seen a different picture on the market. I'd rather have a lot of different semiconductor companies, than the current monopoly of TSMC