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July 12, 2026
 

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RAPIDUS

Rapidus plans to sell its advanced 2-nanometer chips at around the same price as those already mass-produced by TSMC, the world's largest chip foundry.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2026
Rapidus to match TSMC on 2-nanometer chip pricing, Japan firm’s president says
The Taiwanese maker’s chips are expected to be sold at around ¥3 million to ¥3.5 million per silicon wafer.
Rapidus will exchange memorandums of understanding on the cooperation with U.K. Semiconductor Center, which supports the British chip industry through funding by the British government, and Fondazione Chips-IT, an Italian government research institute.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2026
Rapidus to cooperate with British and Italian institutions
The Japanese semiconductor company will sign agreements with public institutions in the two countries during Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s trip to Europe on Saturday.
The U.S.-China rivalry is increasingly centered on semiconductor and rare-earth chokepoints as Japan tries to revive its chip industry and secure a strategically vital role in global supply chains.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 18, 2026
Semiconductor chokepoints define U.S.-China rivalry
Two chokepoints now stand out: advanced semiconductors for China and rare-earth minerals for the United States.
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks during the opening of a Rapidus chip analysis factory in Chitose, Hokkaido, on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 11, 2026
Japan bets ¥632 billion to propel startup Rapidus into global AI chip race
The move ramps up financial support for a signature project widely regarded as a long shot.
Rapidus is building a massive plant in Chitose, Hokkaido, for the manufacture of advanced semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2026
Japan’s Rapidus receives another ¥267.6 billion in funding
The government now controls 11.5% of the chipmaker, and that figure reaches up to 40% if nonvoting shares are converted.
The Rapidus booth at the Semicon Japan exhibition in Tokyo on Wednesday. The exhibition is scheduled to continue through Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 18, 2025
Rapidus announces new artificial intelligence design tools
The chipmaker, which already uses artificial intelligence in certain aspects of its business, expects its integration to enable it to cut design time and cost.
Fujifilm is among the Japanese firms that are considering investing in in Rapidus, which aims to mass-produce next-generation semiconductors.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2025
Kyocera and Fujifilm among firms eyeing investments in Rapidus
The new funding is expected to put the chipmaker on track to achieving its goal of securing about ¥130 billion in additional private-sector investments.
MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Bank plan to provide loans totaling up to around ¥2 trillion to Rapidus, marking the first private-sector loan to the Japanese chipmaker.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 12, 2025
Three megabanks eye loans of up to ¥2 trillion to Rapidus
The injection of such funds is expected to boost the firm’s planned mass production of cutting-edge chips, which requires a large amount of money.
The Rapidus semiconductor foundry construction site in Chitose, Hokkaido Prefecture, in December 2023. The state-backed company is attempting a high-risk, high-cost leap into making the world’s most advanced chips to revive the nation's tech industry.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 4, 2025
What TSMC and Shakespeare can teach Japan’s Rapidus
If Rapidus pulls it off, though, this moonshot could rewrite the history of Japan’s tech industry.
Rapidus is planning to build a second plant in Hokkaido to produce next-generation microchips, according to local media reports.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 26, 2025
Rapidus plans second cutting-edge chip plant: reports
The aim is to produce next-generation 1.4-nanometer microchips as soon as 2029, the reports said.
Rapidus last week printed circuitry on wafers using 2-nanometer gate-all-around process technology, President Atsuyoshi Koike told reporters Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025
Rapidus reports 2-nanometer progress, moving Japan closer to semiconductor goals
Uncertainty about U.S. President Donald Trump’s willingness to defend Taiwan in the event of an attack is among motivations for Japan’s efforts to build its own foundry.
The government has already decided to provide more than ¥1.7 trillion to Rapidus.
BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2025
Japan eyes ‘golden share’ as condition for aid to Rapidus
In addition to granting the government a golden share and some voting rights, companies that receive government aid will also be required to raise funds from the private sector.
Pat Gelsinger (left), former Intel CEO and general partner at Playground Global, and Peter Barrett, co-founder and general partner of Playground, in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025
Former Intel CEO Gelsinger has some advice for Japan’s Rapidus
He encourages the chipmaker to distinguish itself in some way from TSMC.
A recently enacted ordinance aimed at respecting individual differences in Sapporo has not been without controversy.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Apr 28, 2025
Sapporo enacts ordinance to foster diversity and inclusion
The number of foreign residents in Sapporo has doubled over the past decade, despite an overall population decline in the city.
Rapidus is gearing up to mass produce semiconductors using 2-nanometer processes in 2027, which on paper would match Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2025
Rapidus begins pilot production of 2-nanometer chips in Hokkaido
The 2-year-old company aims to mass produce the next-generation semiconductors — vital for technologies such as artificial intelligence and autonomous driving — in 2027.
Chip startup Rapidus is set to receive as much as ¥802.5 billion in additional subsidies from the government.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2025
Japan earmarks another ¥802.5 billion for chip startup Rapidus
Rapidus is on track to get a pilot line online in April, executives said last week.
The launch of the test line will be an important milestone in Rapidus' aim of beginning mass production at the factory in 2027.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 29, 2025
Rapidus to launch pilot line for advanced chips on Tuesday
The launch of the test line will be an important milestone in Rapidus’ aim of beginning mass production at the factory in 2027.
To achieve a stable supply chain and propel semiconductor innovation, Japan's government and chipmakers are increasingly building bridges with foreign firms.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 3, 2025
Japan is no island when it comes to semiconductors. Rightly so.
To achieve a stable supply chain and propel semiconductor innovation, Japan’s government and chipmakers are increasingly building bridges with foreign firms.
Kumamon, the official mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, poses in front of a sign of Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., at TSMC's then new factory in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, in February 2024.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 3, 2025
In chip renaissance, Japan is learning from past mistakes
In the 1980s, Japan dominated semiconductor production. Fast-forward to today and the country is trying to recapture its past glory, this time with a more outward-looking strategy.
Rapidus, which is expected to begin pilot production of chips in April and achieve mass production in 2027, is the cornerstone of the government’s effort to revive its domestic semiconductor industry.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2025
Cabinet approves bill to fund Rapidus semiconductor production
Rapidus is the cornerstone of the government’s effort to revive its domestic semiconductor industry.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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