Chip cities rise in Japan’s fields of dreams
Japan's rural areas are transforming as they invest billions in semiconductor production to regain industry leadership and attract workers.
Yo, listen up—Japan's out here flipping the game. Rice paddies that’ve been sitting idle for decades are now prime real estate. Why? Chips. Yep, semiconductors. In Chitose, Hokkaido, you’ve got cranes popping up in the middle of nowhere. Thousands of workers are hustling on a $33 billion bet to put Japan on top of the chip world again. And Rapidus, this two-year-old startup, is aiming to pump out 2-nanometer chips by 2027. Crazy ambitious, right? The government’s throwing in trillions of yen, even though their track record? A little shaky. But hey, big risks, big rewards. That’s the play.
Now swing all the way down to Kyushu—1,500 kilometers southwest—where Kikuyo’s about to crank out chips at a $7 billion plant. Japan isn’t messing around here, folks. They’re pulling salarymen off planes and pouring cash into cranes. It’s a high-stakes, high-speed race to snatch back the semiconductor crown. And honestly? They’re not blinking. Watch this space.
