[Event Report] SEMICON Japan
Semiconductors Powering the Globe from Japan

SEMICON, a major international semiconductor exhibition and conference series, was held in Tokyo from December 11 to 13, 2024, offering a platform for global semiconductor experts and professionals to update technical and market knowledge, collaborate, and find opportunities to enter Japan's growing market.

JETRO and the New York Center for Research, Economic Advancement, Technology, Engineering, and Science (NY CREATES), one of the world's leading non-profit semiconductor R&D organizations, had recently formed a strategic partnership and held a joint SEMICON seminar on creating business opportunities through collaboration.

Frank Tolic, Associate Vice President for Business Development at NY CREATES, spoke of the high expectations of the partnership with JETRO and Japan:

"Japan is a leader in the semiconductor supply chain for materials, chemicals, and a lot of the consumables that are part of the entire supply chain for major semiconductor device makers.
We developed an agreement with JETRO and anticipate that by working together with JETRO and Japanese companies, we will have multiple engineering engagements, helping advance technology and moving it much faster."

We interviewed other industry leaders and event exhibitors for their insights into developments and opportunities in the Japanese semiconductor industry.

Mike Young-Han Kim, CEO of Gauss Labs, a Palo Alto-based industrial AI company, said that Japan's semiconductor ecosystem includes major Japanese corporations and provides everything needed for semiconductor manufacturing, starting with the manufacturing equipment and fabrication processes.

"There is Tokyo Electron, one of the most important companies in the ecosystem of semiconductor manufacturing, and very mature fabrication facilities led by Sony, Toshiba, ROHM, Nessa, and other companies. A new company, Rapidus, is also really trying to lead the scaling of semiconductor manufacturing," said Kim. "So overall, we believe that Japan is a very mature but also very exciting playing field for semiconductor manufacturing."

Ghassan Barbar, Sales Director at ELEMENT 3-5 GmbH, a German epitaxy company, said that Japan's successful track record in technology transition from manufacturing to adoption was a key attraction.

"We see from the past that Japanese companies are successful in technology transition, and we also want to be part of this in Japan," said Barbar.

The Japanese semiconductor industry is evolving with new technologies, partnerships, and opportunities. Global players are converging on Japan and following developments in the Japanese semiconductor market. Now is the perfect time to find your place in this growing market.