Japan and US seek agreement to strengthen semiconductor supply chain

The Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday that April 2 (Reuters) – The United States and Japan will cooperate in the supply of critical parts for chips, with the goal of reaching an agreement that the leaders of the two countries will meet this month.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will become the first foreign leader to visit the US since President Joe Biden took office. Japan’s chief cabinet secretary said the meeting, originally scheduled for April 9, was delayed until the middle of the month.

The tour comes as a global semiconductor shortage has forced the American automaker and other industrial companies to cut production. This issue has become important for lawmakers, who are concerned about the economic and security risks stemming from the shortfall.

A senior US official said that officials in the United States, South Korea and Japan are expected to discuss concerns about the shortfall in a meeting on Friday.

“It would be fair to say that our three countries hold many keys to the future of semiconductor manufacturing technology and we will reaffirm the importance of securing these sensitive supply chains,” the official told reporters.

Suga is expected to leave Japan for Washington on April 15, two government sources told Reuters. Nikkei said that the meeting with Biden was postponed due to US government agenda issues.

(Reporting Sakora Murakami, Yoshifumi Takemoto and David Dolan by Steve Holland and David Brunstrom in Washington DC; Edited in Spanish by Benjamin Mejis Valencia)