Japanese and U.S. business leaders on Wednesday urged their governments to deepen collaboration to ensure a stable supply of semiconductors as they become increasingly important in the digitalization of everything from cars to infrastructure.
In a joint statement released at the end of their two-day meeting of the annual Japan-U.S. Business Conference, top corporate executives from the two countries also emphasized heightened economic security risks surrounding semiconductors in the face of rising geopolitical tensions.
"It is our policy to strengthen interaction between allies," Jun Sawada, head of the Japan-U.S. Business Council, one of the organizers of the meeting, told a press conference.
The leaders will continue discussions on economic pressure from China, such as its export restrictions on rare earths used in production of chip materials, they said.
The statement also urged the governments to accelerate technological development for clean energy use in the Indo-Pacific region as stability of energy supply has become even more important following Russia's war on Ukraine.
It also called for international rulemaking in the area of artificial intelligence as well as increased collaboration with emerging countries such as India.
