Japan is an important country within the global supply chain for semiconductors. Photo credit: Shutterstock

An anonymous Japanese industry minister has revealed that tensions are mounting in the country regarding US restrictions against Chinese chipmakers, reports Reuters. 

Speaking to Reuters, the official stated that there is “an odd discomfort” with US chip regulations. Explaining this sentiment further, they stated that “there’s no need to identify the country, all you need to do is control the item”. 

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These comments come just as Japan’s new legislation restricts exports of 23 semiconductor manufacturing equipment is rolled out, as announced in April this year. 

Unlike the US, which mentions China 20 times in its CHIPS act issued last October, Reuters reports the anonymous minister states that Japan cannot sanction specific countries unless they are directly involved in a conflict. 

Instead, Japan’s new legislation requires export permissions for all nations, not just China, wanting semiconductor materials from the country. 

Despite this, China has still warned Japan against these new export permissions describing them as having “seriously violated” international trade rules. 

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With mounting pressure from lobby groups, the Biden administration has yet to update its October regulations but is expected to do so to cover the specific manufacturing tools following Japan’s laws. 

As AI continues to disrupt multiple industries, GlobalData predicts that semiconductor demand will increase, and the market for AI chips will grow up to $130bn, with AI chips set to become 40% of the global semiconductor market.