A Global Semiconductor Innovation Community Takes Off

RISE-A (Revolutionary Innovation by Semiconductor Ecosystem for All Industries), established in June 2025, aims to provide "places and opportunities" for connection and collaboration among companies related to semiconductors and their users, along with research institutions and universities. The founding symposium was held on November 4, 2025. While industry organizations specializing in semiconductors, such as SEMI, are common, RISE-A stands out for its mission to leverage semiconductors - often called the "lifeblood of industry" - to drive innovation across all sectors as the phrase of "for All Industries" indicates, aiming to strengthen the competitiveness of Japan's next-generation industries. Utilizing its base in Nihonbashi, which offers excellent access from Tokyo Station, RISE-A is also expected to deepen collaboration with overseas partners, positioning itself as an ignition point for industrial innovation.

RISE-A is a general incorporated association established primarily by Mitsui Fudosan. Before establishing RISE-A, Mitsui Fudosan launched LINK-J in March 2016 under the philosophy of "transforming from a real estate developer to an industrial developer." LINK-J is a life sciences innovation network platform that actively organizes events and attracts both startups and academia, achieving notable success. In September 2022, the company initiated cross U, a community focused on the space industry, marking RISE-A as its third major initiative. Over more than nine years, LINK-J has grown to over 950 member companies and expanded its cluster sites in the Nihonbashi area to 12 locations, where more than 200 startups and other organizations have established their bases. About 10% of resident companies are overseas firms and the sites serve as a gateway for entry into Japan. For example, EUROIMMUN, a Germany-based manufacturer of diagnostic reagents and analytical instruments, established the Japanese subsidiary at a LINK-J base in 2019. As of the end of October 2025, RISE-A already has about 40 member companies and welcomes both domestic and international participants, aiming for further expansion.

At the founding symposium, Mr. Kazunori Yamashita, Vice Chairperson of RISE-A and Executive Managing Officer of Mitsui Fudosan, outlined the business overview. He emphasized the importance of international ties, particularly on the "soft side," through memorandums of understanding (MOUs) signed with leading semiconductor research institutions, including imec in Belgium, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan, and NY CREATES in Albany, New York, the U.S. He also stated that RISE-A would provide opportunities for collaboration with these organizations.

Additionally, Professor Hiroshi Amano, Chairperson of RISE-A and professor at Nagoya University, stressed in his keynote speech that it was crucial to create new value in semiconductors through RISE-A by converging diverse elements across multiple dimensions: manufacturing and customers; various types of semiconductors; experienced and younger talent; and industry, academia, government and finance.

Following this, Mr. Katsuhiko Kawazoe, Chief Executive Fellow at NTT Corporation and Mr. Hajime Kumabe, CEO of Woven by Toyota, gave presentations on the theme "Innovation Utilizing New Semiconductors." Then, under the theme "Expectations for Japan's Semiconductor Ecosystem from Overseas," Mr. Norishige Morimoto, Vice President, Member of the Board of Directors, Executive Officer, and Chief Technology Officer at IBM Japan Ltd., Mr. Keith Ito, Japan Representative of imec, and Mr. Wei-Chung Lo, Deputy Director of Electronic and Optoelectronic System Research Laboratories at ITRI, each shared their perspectives. The event concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Mr. Jun-ichi Okamura, Representative Director, the General Incorporated Association OpenSUSI, Inc.

Mr. Kawazoe of NTT cited an example in which the establishment of a new R&D center on the U.S. West Coast led to a significant increase in the number of the company's papers accepted at the highly rigorous International Cryptology Conference "Crypto." These papers represented about 20% of all accepted submissions. He highlighted that creating hubs in locations where people naturally gather fosters interaction, which in turn sparks innovation. This is where expectations for RISE-A's role come into play.

Additionally, Mr. Morimoto of IBM Japan referred to ongoing technology development and collaboration with Rapidus, which aims to mass-produce advanced semiconductors in Hokkaido, and outlined three key reasons for choosing Japan as a strategic base: (1) to reduce reliance on a single company or country in an era where supply chain diversification is critical, (2) the presence of long-standing partnerships with many Japanese equipment and materials companies, and (3) Japan's world-class capabilities in implementing and applying advanced manufacturing technologies.

Mr. Ito of imec expressed his intention to strengthen collaboration with Japan in the future and showed strong interest in supporting the industrialization of promising seeds among Japanese startups and academia by leveraging imec.xpand, a venture capital (VC) fund.

Mr. Kiyoshi Nakazawa, Secretary-General of RISE-A, stated regarding future initiatives, "Although we have branded this as semiconductor-focused, interaction not only with manufacturers but also, and especially, with a broad range of user companies is essential. We also anticipate significant collaboration and spillover effects with advanced technologies such as AI and quantum. Furthermore, we plan to leverage strong existing communities in life sciences and space industries, such as LINK-J and cross U, to create mutual benefits."

Similar membership-based communities exist around the world, such as Silicon Saxony, based in Germany's Saxony state, the Arizona Technology Council in the U.S., and the Hsinchu Science Park Administration in Taiwan. In advanced semiconductor ecosystems, the presence of such communities is considered vital for fostering innovation (refer to "Lessons from Four Major Overseas Semiconductor Ecosystems and Application Plans for Hokkaido," p.46(4.6MB) *Japanese Only). We should pay close attention to how these trends evolve.