Japan offers to buy 1 trillion yen in chips during U.S. tariff talks

Asahi Shimbun

28-05-2025

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer meets with Japan's top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa in Washington on May 23. (Provided by the Cabinet Secretariat)
The government has proposed purchasing billions of dollars' worth of U.S. semiconductors, primarily from industry giant Nvidia Corp., according to government sources familiar with ongoing Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations.
This proposed deal could cost as much as 1 trillion yen ($6.9 billion) and would serve as a bargaining chip aimed at reducing the U.S. trade deficit.
To support large-scale chip imports, the government plans to offer subsidies to domestic firms, particularly telecommunications and tech companies that operate data centers.
Nvidia remains a dominant player in the global artificial intelligence chip market with an estimated 80 percent share in semiconductors for data centers.
As U.S. chip makers depend on Taiwan for manufacturing, tensions in the region have prompted President Donald Trump to focus on boosting domestic production.
Japan has also proposed support measures for the U.S.-based manufacturing of essential semiconductor components such as wafers and chemical solutions.
Underscoring the importance of building a resilient, shared supply chain, Japanese officials stress that enhanced cooperation would bolster economic security for both nations.
Japan's chief trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is scheduled to hold a fourth round of talks with U.S. officials in Washington as early as May 30.
The discussions come ahead of a planned bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada in mid-June.
Both sides hope to make significant progress in ministerial-level negotiations ahead of the leaders' summit.