Semiconductor policy ramps up

Japan and the United States are putting more public money and public institutions behind chipmaking as both countries try to move more of the supply chain closer to home. (reuters.com, gov.texas.gov) In Japan, the industry ministry approved an additional 631.5 billion yen for Rapidus on April 12, 2025, according to Reuters, after the ministry had said on March 31 that support for fiscal 2025 could reach 802.5 billion yen. Rapidus, founded in 2022, is targeting mass production of 2-nanometer chips in 2027 at its Hokkaido site. (reuters.com, jiji.com, rapidus.inc) Rapidus said in March 2026 that it had secured 267.6 billion yen from the Japanese government and private investors, including 167.6 billion yen from 32 companies such as Sony Group, SoftBank, NTT, Fujitsu, Canon and the Development Bank of Japan. The company said that round brought its stated capital and legal capital surplus to 274.95 billion yen. (rapidus.inc) A semiconductor is the tiny switch that turns electricity on and off inside phones, cars and data centers, and a supply chain is the long list of companies that design chips, make tools, coat parts, package wafers and move materials. Governments have spent the past three years trying to keep more of those steps inside allied countries after shortages disrupted automakers, electronics makers and defense suppliers. (chips.gov, commerce.gov) In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott and Texas A&M University leaders broke ground on the Texas A&M Semiconductor Institute on April 9, 2026, at the RELLIS campus in Bryan. The governor’s office said the institute will focus on workforce development, next-generation research and industry collaboration tied to national security and domestic chip production. (gov.texas.gov, chips.tamus.edu, communityimpact.com) Local reports put the Texas A&M project at a little over $200 million, with figures ranging from $205 million to $226 million as planning and public descriptions have evolved. The planned building is about 120,000 square feet, and construction filings reported by the Houston Chronicle said work is expected to run into January 2028. (chron.com, kxxv.com, communityimpact.com) In Arizona, Chandler announced on April 2, 2026, that Japan’s TOCALO had leased 32,045 square feet at 400 North 56th Street for a coating service facility serving semiconductor equipment components. Chandler and the Arizona Commerce Authority said the site will support equipment makers and other advanced-manufacturing customers in the Phoenix-area chip cluster. (chandleraz.gov, azcommerce.com) TOCALO’s work is a reminder that chip policy is not only about giant fabrication plants. Surface treatment and thermal-spray coatings help semiconductor tools last longer and perform reliably, which is why suppliers that never make a chip themselves are still being pulled into places like Chandler, where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Intel have expanded nearby operations. (chandleraz.gov, commerce.gov, intel.com) The push is expensive, and officials in both countries are betting that public support can buy time for private industry to rebuild capacity that migrated elsewhere over decades. Japan’s aid to Rapidus now runs into the trillions of yen on paper, while U.S. efforts combine federal subsidies, state incentives, university research and local supplier recruitment. (jiji.com, chips.gov, gov.texas.gov) What happens next is less about one announcement than whether these projects open on schedule and attract enough engineers, toolmakers and customers to keep the lines running. That test is already underway in Hokkaido, Bryan and Chandler. (rapidus.inc, chips.tamus.edu, chandleraz.gov)