Former Japanese Economic Minister Akira Amari appeared at a Taiwan-Japan tech forum on Friday, hosted by Taiwan’s Indo-Pacific Strategy Think Tank. Amari stressed that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) alone cannot fulfill the world’s soaring demand, driven by digital transformation, for chips.
Over his four-decade career in politics, Amari played a pivotal role in Japan’s semiconductor revival, spearheading the allocation of government subsidies for chip manufacturing. That includes funds pledged to startup Rapidus, a semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Tokyo, which is now racing to secure more capital in its bid to mass produce cutting-edge chips by 2027.
Amari emphasized that only TSMC currently has the capability to produce the most advanced chips. Rivals like Intel and Samsung remain far behind. But the world’s digital transformation demands a vast volume of these tailor-made chips—something no single company can shoulder alone. “This is a major risk,” he said, urging the creation of a second manufacturing powerhouse. Japan hopes to collaborate with Taiwan to build a dual-system ecosystem centered on TSMC and Rapidus to meet global demand.
Amari concluded with a warning about China’s Deepseek generative AI model. Although affordable, he claimed all user inputs are accessible to Deepseek and ultimately the Chinese government. He cautioned that global intellectual property and decision-making could fall under Chinese control, calling for Japan and Taiwan to jointly build a risk-free AI world.