跌落神坛后，日本半导体联手搞事情

Core Viewpoint - Toshiba, Mitsubishi Electric, and Rohm are negotiating to merge their power semiconductor businesses, aiming to create the world's second-largest power chip group amid increasing global competition in the semiconductor market [3][6]. Group 1: Industry Context - The Japanese government is actively promoting the enhancement of the country's influence in the global semiconductor market, particularly in the power semiconductor sector, which has traditionally been a strength for Japanese companies [3][6]. - The global demand for chips is expected to grow, but Japanese manufacturers are smaller in scale compared to their American and European counterparts, facing significant competition from Chinese manufacturers [6][10]. Group 2: Merger Details - Toshiba's subsidiary, Toshiba Electronic Components & Storage Devices Corporation (TDSC), has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Electric and Rohm to initiate discussions on the merger [3]. - If the merger is successful, the combined market share of the three companies could account for approximately 10% of the global power semiconductor market, positioning them as the second-largest player [6][10]. Group 3: Competitive Landscape - The merger discussions may also serve to counteract a proposal from Denso, a major Japanese automotive parts manufacturer, to acquire Rohm for 1.3 trillion yen (approximately 8.2 billion USD) [6][8]. - Rohm's special committee is evaluating Denso's proposal against the potential benefits of the merger with Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric [8]. Group 4: Government Initiatives - The Japanese government has been advocating for the restructuring of domestic power semiconductor manufacturers since 2023, applying pressure through subsidies [8][15]. - Japan's semiconductor market share has declined significantly, from 51% in 1988 to less than 10% currently, prompting the government to invest heavily in new chip factories to reverse this trend [16][20]. Group 5: Future Plans - The Japanese government aims to increase domestic semiconductor sales to 40 trillion yen by 2040, with a focus on advanced semiconductor research and development [15][21]. - Major investments include a 120 billion yen project by Rapidus, a company supported by Toyota, Sony, and SoftBank, to produce cutting-edge 2-nanometer chips by 2027 [21].