From Nikkei Asia,
KUMAMOTO, Japan -- Hsieh Yong-fen, a materials scientist turned entrepreneur, opened her company's second Japan-based laboratory in the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto late last year. Now she is deciding whether to build a third.
As founder and CEO of Hsinchu, Taiwan-based Materials Analysis Technology, better known to the industry as MA-tek, Hsieh is simply following her main clients -- global tech and chip giants like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Sony -- by expanding in Japan. MA-tek's main work is testing cutting-edge semiconductor materials and certifying new products.
"We believe Japan's resurgence in chip production could be faster than anticipated," she said. "Japan boasts a strong foundation in chipmaking, with top-tier materials, equipment and a largely intact supply chain network meticulously built over years."
MA-tek, which is listed in Taipei, earned 8% of its revenue from Japan last year. It aims to increase that to 20% by year-end, Hsieh said.
The arrival of companies like MA-tek signals a change in the fortunes of Japan's domestic chip sector. Once boasting the world's No. 1 semiconductor industry, Japanese chipmakers have steadily lost ground to South Korean, Taiwanese and U.S. rivals that surged ahead in the 1990s and early 2000s. After multiple failed attempts to restructure the industry, Tokyo had all but given up on the sector.
"The word 'semiconductors' was related to 'failure' in the eyes of the politicians," said Jim Hamajima, president of industry group SEMI Japan, and former executive of global chip toolmaker, Tokyo Electron. In 1989, Japan accounted for six out of the top 10 global chipmakers. As of 2023, none of the top 10 chipmakers by revenue were Japanese....
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