Jim Hamajima

If you think the world is flooded with a mind-boggling volume of digital content, then you might be just a amazed to learn about the sheer wealth of information and business opportunities that will be uncovered at this year’s SEMICON Japan as the event goes full digital.To start, more than 160 companies will exhibit their semiconductor manufacturing gear and services on the virtual show floor of Japan’s premier event for the semiconductor manufacturing and design supply chain. Add to that over 80 presentations and panels that feature global industry executives, visionaries and experts offering insights into the latest microelectronics developments, trends and technologies, and it’s easy to see how SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual is designed to help attendees grow their businesses and the industry drive the next wave of innovations that promise to address some of the world’s greatest challenges across healthcare, the environment, transportation and other industries.Best of all, it will all be available at your convenience from your office or home 24 hours a day, making it safe and easy for you and others from all over the world to attend. Following is what’s in store at SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual to help lead you into the future.Leading Japanese Securities Analysts to Weigh in What’s Ahead for the Chip Equipment Sector in 2021 For the first time, SEMICON Japan will feature Bulls Bears as Japan’s’ five top securities analysts focus on the 2021 outlook for the global semiconductor equipment sector. The December 17th event will include discussions on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the semiconductor industry, the continuing geopolitical tensions that are forcing the industry to reconfigure its supply chains, the fast-growing China market and cutting-edge applications that are powering industry growth. The perspectives from Japan’s investment community are sure to be compelling as the region supplies one-third of the global semiconductor industry’s chip manufacturing equipment.Moderated by Akira Minamikawa of OMDIA, the panel will include these experts:Three Visionaries to Explore the Digital TransformationPowered by semiconductors, the fourth industrial revolution is driving digitalization globally, remaking societies to bring more efficiencies and conveniences to our work and home lives and help more people prosper. But the flip side of those tremendous benefits is the risk that wealth will be concentrated in the hands of people in positions of power, companies and nations. Democratizing economic development remains a serious challenge worldwide.Addressing this pressing issue, the Opening Panel on December 11 will feature prominent visionaries from political, academic and industrial communities including the following:Sony’s Leading-Edge Electric Car and Nissan’s Driver Assistance System to Highlight Automotive InnovationsCars are becoming more like smartphones on wheels, rapidly filling with more and more semiconductor chips every year with electrification and electronic driver-assisted systems to key drivers of this growth. At the SMART Mobility 1 session on December 14, two pioneering companies – Sony and Nissan Motor – will focus on both areas of semiconductor innovation.Sony’s Vision-S concept car, exhibited at CES 2020, astonished many in the electronics ecosystem and the automotive industry. What is Sony’s vision behind the vehicle? Izumi Kawanishi, Senior Vice President, AI Robotics Business at Sony will share the latest on the initiative.Nissan, maker of the pioneering LEAF electric vehicle, is the first Japanese carmaker to equip a car – its new Skyline – with the ProPILOT 2.0 driver assistance system for hands-off highway driving. Nissan Executive Vice President Asako Hoshino will provide an update on the company’s driver assistance system strategy and plans.Quantum Computing Meets Chip Manufacturing for the First Time at SEMICON Japan In contrast with current computer systems that use bits (binary 0 or 1 state) for computing, quantum computers leverage quantum superposition (0 and 1 states exist at once) to quickly solve highly complex problems that might take traditional supercomputers hundreds or even thousands of years to tease out. American physicist Richard Feynman promoted quantum computer as early as 1982, but it wasn’t until nearly two decades later and long after his death that quantum bit circuits emerged for use in superconductive materials.With quantum circuits and devices requiring state-of-art semiconductor processing technology, The Era of Quantum session on December 15 at SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual will discuss necessary advances in chip manufacturing technology to enable the next generation quantum computing. The session will be the first time SEMICON Japan connects the semiconductor manufacturing and quantum computing communities.The program will feature the following experts:Strategies for Sustainable Semiconductor Industry GrowthSemiconductors are giving rise to a hyper-connected world that is fueling demand for staggering volumes of chips, pressuring the electronics industry to uncover new ways to increase manufacturing efficiency while reducing power consumption in a bid to help combat climate change. The Grand Finale Panel composed of executives from Japan’s semiconductor supply chain and a supervising ministry will gather for the Grand Finale Panel on December 18 to discuss ways the industry can achieve sustainable growth through innovation with a focus on energy savings and an new process technologies such as extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV), which promises to enable electronics devices that are more power powerful, cheaper and more energy-efficient.Panelists include the following:Register TodayThe SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual All-In Pass provides online access to all 80 presentations and panels, which will be available on-demand for replay until January 15, 2021. What’s more, all eight keynote programs will feature English subtitles. For complete information of the exposition, programs and registration, visit the SEMICON Japan website.I look forward to seeing you virtually at the event!Jim Hamajima is president of SEMI Japan.

Japan’s semiconductor industry has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic to post robust growth. Far from a temporary setback, COVID-19 will lead to enduring change in how we work and live. And just as automation has been a bulwark against the devastating business impacts of the virus outbreak, increasing digitization will lead to new efficiencies in our industry.These were some of the key takeaways from three SEMI Japan Members Day webinars in June and July that offered the latest updates on COVID-19 impacts to the semiconductor industry and restart strategies for SEMI members. More than 2,000 SEMI members across Japan’s islands attended the webinars featuring the following five speakers: Hideki Kanewaka, Marketing Director, Consulting Lead, Japan, Accenture Japan Ltd. Takayuki Komori, Manager, Marketing Engineering Dept, SUMCO Corporation Taketoshi Hamaguchi, Director, Manufacturing Industry, Microsoft Corporation Akira Minamikawa, Senior Consulting Director, OMDIA (Informa Intelligence LCC) Yuichi Koshiba, Managing Director Partner, Boston Consulting Group COVID-19 Impact on Japan Semiconductor Industry is ModestThe consensus view of the five speakers from various quarters of the industry – consultant, IT service provider, materials supplier, market analyst – was that the Japan semiconductor industry withstood the heavy blows COVID-19 dealt to other industries thanks to strong demand for chips. Shelter-in-place policies and lockdowns spawned by COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation rippling around the world as electronics sales have soared to support everything from remote work and education to healthcare and home entertainment including gaming.The rapid growth of cloud usage for video streaming, gaming and remote work is taxing communications network capacity and placing more bandwidth demands on servers, said Akira Minamikawa of OMDIA. According to a recent report by Nokia, communications network traffic has skyrocketed 300 percent for online meetings and 400 percent for gaming, bringing the networks closer to their capacity limits. Minamikawa sees server shipments increasing at 8 percent CAGR through 2024. For the broader chip market, he expects demand for notebooks, solid state and hard disk drives, and gaming to remain strong in 2020. He also predicts rapid 5G penetration for smartphones will boost semiconductor chip industry growth.Still, not all semiconductor segments are expanding, said Yuichi Koshiba of Boston Consulting Group. Chip shipments for end products in markets such as automotive, industrial equipment and aircrafts are on the decline. Slowing demand for chips that power automotive applications in particular could pare sales for some chip companies and distributors since the segment accounts for a high proportion of their overall revenue.State of the Semiconductor IndustryFrom SUMCO’s vantagepoint as a major silicon wafer supplier, the company’s Takayuki Komori sees a number of changes unfolding in the semiconductor industry: Smartphones are driving growing demand for process technology (smaller nodes) and 300mm wafers. Komori estimates the typical high-end smartphone sports 1,700 square millimeters of silicon. 300mm wafers account for 80 percent of that total while more than 50 percent of the devices use leading edge multi-patterning technologies. Smartphones will need more RF chips to support 5G’s high-speed communications and added frequency ranges. Substrates for RF switches and tuners have been shifting from gallium arsenide (GaAs) and other compound semiconductors to silicon. 5G smartphone penetration will accelerate as the cost of integrating CPUs and modem functions into a single chip sees a swift decline. While the sensitivity and resolution of CMOS image sensors have evolved to incorporate innovative backside illumination and stacking technologies, future advances will focus more on products for machine vision applications capable of sensing invisible light bands. Rising adoption of electric vehicles and robotics applications will drive growing demand for power semiconductors that control their motors such as IGBTs and MOSFETs as the production capacity for the devices expands and shifts to 300mm wafer lines. For memory fabs, Minamikawa said utilization remains high as a result of a spending slowdown by major chip manufacturers and will stay elevated even once additional capacity ramps to support robust demand. Foundry fab utilization also remains high despite the pandemic-driven cancellation of smartphone chip orders in March. Minamikawa also sees the utilization rate of micro rising with the surge in demand for notebooks, PCs and servers in the second half of 2020.Transition to New NormalAs people around the world start to settle into new ways of living and working, there’s a growing acceptance that the transformation will be long-lasting. And no area of people’s lives is changing more than their work. Boosted by government subsidies, many small and midsize companies in Japan have started to implement work-from-home policies, an area where major electronics and IT businesses had already instituted reforms, said Hideki Kanewaka of Accenture. A few examples: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) announced that half of its employees will continue to work from home in the future. A five-year plan Toshiba launched in 2019 to allow all employees to work from home will likely accelerate. Hitachi plans to allow all employees to work from home starting in April 2021. dwango, a major internet-based entertainment company in Japan, announced it will allow in principle any employees to work remotely. In the critical area of remote sales, Kanewaka pointed to the importance of going beyond online business meetings, paperless transactions and virtual events to devise new ways to attract customers and close deals. Creating online communities and providing rich digital content are also important measures to consider, he said.Manufacturing's Digital TransformationTravel restrictions by most countries to curb the COVID-19 outbreak have also raised barriers to chip companies sending engineers overseas sites to service state-of-art equipment and provide other technical support. Microsoft’s remote assist system deployed by ASML is one tool semiconductor makers can use to overcome this challenge, said Taketoshi Hamaguchi of Microsoft.The system connects a remote equipment service expert with an onsite worker through the internet, allowing the technical expert to provide support through a goggle display with a camera worn by the worker. Guided by the expert, the worker can perform complex services. A Natural User Interface (NUI) helps give the factory worker a clear understanding of the often highly technical instructions.Using artificial intelligence (AI) to increase automation will also help reduce the reliance of semiconductor factories on onsite workers. For example, AI deep learning can be deployed to calibrate equipment autonomously and reduce downtime after scheduled maintenances, Hamaguchi said.Corporate Restart Strategies Beyond factory considerations tied to COVID-19, semiconductor companies will need to adapt their business strategies to new ways of operating. For example, global supply chains will shift to domestic sources and increase redundancy to ensure a steady supply, a change leading to higher overall costs, Koshiba said. Trade routes among regions will also be redrawn as the trade rift between the United States and China and other geopolitical tensions intensify. The total value of those routes is expected to recover by 2023.Koshiba advised companies to evaluate the supply chain trade-offs between stability and cost and factor in potential risks to improve their short-term resilience and drive mid- to long-term supply chain restructuring.After past recessions, 14 percent of companies restored sales growth, Koshiba said. He recommended investing aggressively in growth and seizing M A opportunities during the downturn. Chip companies must also adapt to supply chain changes faster than competitors.Become a SEMI MemberWebinars like the recent SEMI Japan Members Day series have become increasingly important in the mix of programs and services SEMI offers members to help them connect, collaborate and innovate in the microelectronics community. To become a SEMI member, please visit the SEMI website or contact your nearest SEMI office.Jim Hamajima is president of SEMI Japan.

In an important step toward resuming business as usual in Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on May 14 lifted the state of emergency originally scheduled to expire at the end of May for 39 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, marking “the real beginning of our efforts toward a new normal in the era of the coronavirus” as new cases continue to decline. But with Tokyo, Osaka and six other prefectures still under the state of emergency, Abe urged citizens to remain cautious as the nation and world continue to confront the COVID-19 threat. Among criteria the remaining prefectures must meet for a state of emergency suspension is a reduction in new infections to no more than 0.5 cases weekly for every 100,000 citizens. The eight prefectures account for nearly half of Japan’s population and GDP, with Tokyo and Osaka the two largest urban areas in the island nation. Japan expects to contain its economic losses to 38 trillion yen, 15 percent less than the 45 trillion yen hit originally projected. The Japan government has planned a May 21 progress review[1] in the eight prefectures, a timeline that Abe said could lead to the lifting of the state of emergency before the original cutoff at the end of the month, a move that would help stem the drain on the domestic economy.Strict Immigration Controls Restricts International Travel to and from Japan by Supplier EngineersAs I reported on April 21, the Japan Foreign Ministry on March 31 raised its travel advisory to level 3 for 49 regions around the world including the U.S., prohibiting travel from Japan for any purpose. SEMI Japan is urging government officials to exempt Japanese supply chain engineers from the travel ban to allow visits to semiconductor manufacturing facilities in those regions in order to install, start up and service equipment.Starting May 14, Japan blocked immigration of foreign nationals and permanent residents from 100 countries and regions worldwide, a ban applying to anyone who spent time in their home region within 14 days of their planned arrival in Japan. The areas include China, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan in Asia; Canada and the U.S.; and Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland and the U.K. in Europe. For the complete list, see the Japan Ministry of Justice’s website.Japan’s immigration ban mirrors restrictions now in place in many other regions around the world. The immigration controls are well-intended – to restrict the spread of COVID-19 – but hamstring the global microelectronics supply chain. For example, the curbs bar engineers from international travel to install new tools and software in fabs. SEMI Japan has stressed the potential chip industry impacts of the ban in ongoing talks with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and is facilitating discussions between government representatives and SEMI members to help clear the way for travel by critical supply chain workers to Japan. SEMI Supports Members with COVID-19 ResourcesSEMI international headquarters and regional offices are here to help you, our members. For more information on our webinars, surveys, best practices and other information designed to help you meet the challenges of the pandemic, please visit the SEMI Coronavirus Updates Resources page.[1] The May 21 review found three prefectures in western area – Hyogo, Kyoto and Osaka – met the criteria to lift the state of the emergency. Four other prefectures – Chiba, Hokkaido, Saitama and Tokyo – remain under the emergency order that will be reviewed again as early as May 25.Jim Hamajima is president of SEMI Japan.

On April 16, Japan prime minister Shinzo Abe expanded the state of emergency beyond Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures to all 47 prefectures nationwide in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.As I reported two weeks ago, SEMI Japan initiated communications with all prefectural governments on April 10. Since then, the government’s concerns over the virus’s impact on the semiconductor supply chain have heightened. Prefectural Governments Plan No Restrictions on the Semiconductor Supply ChainOf the 47 prefectural governors I contacted, urging them to classify the semiconductor industry as an essential business, 40 confirmed in follow-up calls through April 20 that they have no plans to restrict operations of the semiconductor industry and supply chain companies in their jurisdictions. Those prefectures include Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, Hiroshima, Hyogo, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata and Yamanashi.However, the Aichi, Iwate, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Oita and Saga governors cautioned they will reconsider restrictions on the semiconductor and other industries if COVID-19 transmissions worsen.The seven other prefectures including Tokyo and Osaka are not planning to respond to our request until they have COVID-19 transmission mitigation plans in place. In the meantime, SEMI Japan will continue to encourage prefectural governments to allow semiconductor supply chain companies to continue to operate unrestricted, a move consistent with current national policy for novel coronavirus disease control.Japan’s Economic Stimulus PackageOn April 6, a day before prime minister Shinzo Abe declared the emergency state for seven prefectures, he announced an unprecedented 108 trillion yen ($989 billion) stimulus package[1]. The package, equivalent to about 20% of the Japan’s economic output, dwarfs the 56 trillion yen in aid passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.The first phase of the relief package seeks to halt job losses and bankruptcies, while the second will support a V-shaped economic recovery. For businesses, phase-one aid includes: Subsidies for firms that keep workers on the payroll. Large companies keeping at least half of their workers on the payroll and small and medium sized businesses that continue to pay at least two-thirds of their employees are eligible for the payouts. One-year deferment of income and regional tax payments for companies hit by the virus Property tax reductions of 50% in fiscal year 2020 for small and medium sized companies with sales that have fallen by at least 30%, and property tax exemptions for those with sales suffering contractions of at least 50%. Interest-free loans requiring no collateral for small and medium sized companies Low-interest loans available to medium sized and large companies through the Development Bank of Japan and Shoko Chukin Bank The second phase of the package, still under development, could include incentives to recharge consumer spending and tourism and subsidies for regional economies once the coronavirus has been contained.Japan COVID-19 Stimulus and Support ResourcesThe economic support measures planned by the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) are summarized at https://www.meti.go.jp/english/covid-19/index.html#10.Prefectural and municipal stimulus and support information is summarized in Japanese at https://j-net21.smrj.go.jp/support/tsdlje00000085bc.html.SEMI Supports Members with COVID-19 ResourcesSEMI international headquarters and regional offices are here to help you, our members. For more information on our webinars, surveys, best practices and other information designed to help you meet the challenges of the pandemic, please visit the SEMI Coronavirus Updates Resources page.[1] The government increased the stimulus package to ¥117.1 trillion after a sudden policy shift to provide cash handouts of ¥100,000 for every individual in Japan. Originally, the plans were to give ¥300,000 to each household that has seen a sharp fall in income due to the virus outbreak.Jim Hamajima is president of SEMI Japan.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures[1] on April 7 in response to a startling increase of COVID-19 infections in the region’s cities in an uneasy moment for its domestic semiconductor industry. The declaration, effective through May 6, authorized the six prefectural governors to strengthen curbs on the spread of the virus and included guidance for citizens to stay home and restrictions on operations of non-essential businesses.With Japan supplying some 40 percent of the world’s chip production equipment and materials, the declaration stirred fears among semiconductor manufacturers that their uninterrupted operations – critical to sustaining the global industry – might be at risk. Japan Government Designates Semiconductor Industry as EssentialIn April 7 and 11 revisions to its Basic Policies for Novel Coronavirus Disease Control, the Japanese government allayed those concerns by designating semiconductor manufacturers essential businesses – a stark acknowledgment of the chipmakers’ vital role in combatting the novel coronavirus. The policy stated:“Among medical and manufacturing industries, we request the continuation of the following business operators in consideration of infection prevention: operators who are difficult to stop production line due to the characteristics of the equipment (such as blast furnaces and semiconductor factories); and operators who produce essentials (including important items in supply chains) for protection of the people who need medical care and support, as well as for maintenance of social infrastructure. We also request the continuation of the business operators who sustain medical care, the lives of the people, and maintenance of the national economy.”[2]SEMI Japan Reaches Out to Prefectures to Urge Essential Business Designation Equipment and materials shortages can halt production of an entire fab line and ripple through intricately connected global supply chains to stifle the production of end devices including the electronics critical to COVID-19 treatments. Electronic devices also play a central role in containing the virus’s spread by enabling artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, digital communications, telemedicine, robotics, remote health monitoring, telecommuting, online shopping and other digital services.The essential business designation was explicit recognition that Japan’s semiconductor supply chain is integral to the global chip production ecosystem and worthy of the same protections the government has implemented for semiconductor companies. With SEMI members operating in Japan’s 47 prefectures, I sent letters to all prefectural governors three days after the second policy revision, urging them to apply the same designation, and the SEMI Japan team is following up to secure their support.SEMI Japan Encourages Government to Exempt Members from Travel Restrictions The Japan Foreign Ministry on March 31 raised to level 3 its travel advisory for 49 regions including the U.S., China, Taiwan and South Korea, encouraging Japanese citizens to avoid travel regardless of purpose to blunt the international spread of the coronavirus. SEMI Japan is working with the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan to urge the government to exempt semiconductor supply chain companies from the level 3 travel restrictions if they implement measures to prevent domestic infections and contagion in the visited regions. The exemptions would allow supply chain companies to install and service equipment at fabs – one key to maintaining smooth, uninterrupted operations.SEMI Supports Members with COVID-19 ResourcesSEMI international headquarters and regional offices are here to help you, our members. For more information on our webinars, surveys, best practices and other information designed to help you meet the challenges of the pandemic, please visit the SEMI Coronavirus Updates Resources page.[1] The six prefectures are Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka.[2] Provisional translation by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Full document is available at https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/10900000/000620733.pdf.Jim Hamajima is president of SEMI Japan.

Augmented reality (AR) tyrannosauruses towered on-screen as I interacted with the creatures in a mix of prehistoric and cutting edge. Or, rather, my AR double was doing the playacting. Minutes later, virtual doppelgangers of a small lineup of chip industry executives cut the ceremonial ribbon. Seemingly sweeping away the winter chill, the opening of SEMICON Japan 2019 dazzled with smart technology and the promise of lives, cities and workplaces transformed, with uber-intelligent applications in full display at Tokyo Big Sight. But what resources does the industry need to harness to drive the next era of innovation? The semiconductor industry’s unwavering passion and young talent are key, said Hiroshi Imano, Chairperson of the SEMICON Japan Initiatives Committee, in his opening keynote. And hardly any region of the world is in a better position to help realize that future than Japan, Imano said. The region supplies one third of the equipment and more than half of all materials to the global semiconductor manufacturing industry.Talent was also top of mind for SEMICON Japan 2019 keynote speaker Makiko Eda, Japan's Chief Representative Officer at the World Economic Forum (WEF). Serving as a platform for public-private partnerships, the organization's mandate is to tackle global issues such as climate change and geopolitical strife in making world more resilient to risk and, by extension, more sustainable.Spanning ecology, economy, technology, society, geopolitics and industry, that mission includes reskilling and upskilling a billion people over the next decade, a high priority for WEF, which hosts a conference every January in Davos, Switzerland. The theme of this month's conference – Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World – reflects the vital importance of building the international partnerships and global consensus necessary to achieving WEF's goals.One key to that sustainability will be technology and Arm, a global chip design company, will play a key role, with the company’s chips touching over 70 percent of the world’s population, Arm president Yuzuru Utsumi said in his keynote. Today, Arm is driving toward an ambitious goal: Ship 100 billion chips from 2017 to 2021 – the same number produced over the previous quarter century – by powering advances in mobile computing, server and networking infrastructures, and automotive applications.Arm’s innovation ecosystem of more than 1,000 partners will deliver these chips as they continue to work together to develop differentiated technology. Arm plans to increase investments not only in its primary processor business to accelerate market share gains but in the company’s new IoT business to create new revenue streams. The goal: Deliver long-term sustainable growth, Utsumi said. SEMICON Japan 2019 showcases SMART manufacturing and transportation Billed as a showcase of smart technologies, SEMICON Japan 2019 delivered with an array of eye-grabbing exhibitions in the popular SMART Applications Zone. In the SMART Transportation area, the automatic operation pavilion featured a car equipped with open-source software for autonomous driving. The exhibitor, Tier IV, aims to help lead the early commercialization of self-driving vehicles through the adoption of its software, Autoware, which makes it easier to develop self-driving vehicle prototypes using low-power platforms.Sony Semiconductor Solutions demonstrated a vision sensing processor designed to guide autonomous drones. Using two cameras, the processor measured the changing distance between visitors moving about the exhibit and stationary objects in real time, indicating proximity in hues of red (nearby) and blue (at a distance). Many visitors were wowed, describing the multichromatic display as futuristic.Others rode a simple wooden swing hanging by two ropes, but from dizzying heights thanks to Solidray’s Duo-Sight, a virtual reality (VR) system that projects 3D images stretching from wall to floor for immersive experiences. One visitor thrilled at how riding the swing, suspended only a few feet from the floor, felt like soaring on a flying trapeze. Target applications for the technology include virtual rides at amusement parks and presenting interior design options to homeowners.In the SMART Manufacturing area, one highlight was the demonstration by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) of a remote-controlled Minimal Fab System designed for low-volume, high-mix chip production with little staffing. Designed to increase production efficiency, the system allows a circuit designer to manufacture a semiconductor by singlehandedly operating equipment up and down the production line. Controlling nearly 50 pieces of equipment, the Minimal Fab System on display manufactured chips that were verified for functional operation and exhibited afterwards.On the SMART Applications stage, exhibitors DENSO and Toyota Motor Corporation announced a new joint venture to conduct research and advanced development of the next-generation in-vehicle semiconductors critical to electric and autonomous vehicle innovation. The venture, operating as MIRISE Technologies, will combine Toyota’s mobility expertise with DENSO’s in-vehicle component prowess. The goal is to build a rapid, competitive development system by 2030, said Yoshifumi Kato, executive director of the DENSO Research and Development Center, and president and representative director of the venture. On track to begin work this year, MIRISE will span three fields of technology development: power electronics, sensing and SoC (System-on-a-Chip). The name MIRISE combines word the Japanese word "mirai" (future) with "rise."Business Continuity PlanningNatural disasters and other emergencies are an ongoing threat to uninterrupted business operations across the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain and particularly in earthquake-prone Japan. To better prepare for business disruptions and restore normal operations as soon as possible after disaster strikes, more companies are teaming on Business Continuity Planning (BCP).THK's Seismic Isolation Experience Car demonstrated one technology designed to help – a seismic isolation device. The car shakes like an earthquake to give people inside a taste of how a building heaves and sways during a quake with and without the device deployed. Visitors were struck by how much the isolator dampens tremors to prevent or minimize damage. In the BCP seminar, representatives from Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing, THK, DISCO and Team Engineering Consulting shared lessons learned from actual disasters and discussed the critical importance of daily disaster drills. Yukihide Keigo, Executive Engineer in charge of Products and Development at Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing, recounted how the company’s Kumamoto Prefecture plant struggled for 96 days to restore full operations after the facility sustained heavy damage in the 2016 earthquake. Keigo said the plant lacked the structural reinforcements necessary to withstand the impact and fell prey to poor planning and accountability. The Kumamoto plant has since implemented measures – structural and procedural improvements – that more accurately account for seismic risks to ensure full recovery within 56 days. The plant’s new procedures include emergency drills for staff including night-shift workers.Innovation abounds at six SuperTHEATER forumsSEMICON Japan 2019 was held in the West and South Halls of Tokyo Big Sight as organizers of the Tokyo Olympics occupied the East Hall, the exhibition's usual home at the venue, to prepare for the 2020 games. For the first time, the main stage, SuperTHEATER, was set up in the cavernous arena near the main entrance. The SuperTHEATER featured six forums over three days. Semiconductor Executive Forum – View by Top Two in the Era of Digitalization with thought leaders from IHS Markit and Sony Semiconductor Solutions SMART Connectivity Forum – Infinite World Brought by 5G Innovation with experts from Softbank and Nokia Solutions Networks SMART Transportation Forum I – Front-line of Automated Driving featuring speakers from Intel and DENSO SMART Transportation Forum II – Revolution of Sky Transportation, supported by the U.S. Commercial Service in Japan, with presenters from Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Subaru and Bell Helicopter Manufacturing Innovation Summit – Issues and Innovation: What will Drive Growth to 2030 featuring thought leaders from VLSI Research, Applied Materials, KLA, Nikon and Tokyo Electron Mirai Vision Forum – Future Relation of Technology and Body 2.0 with speakers from Leave a Nest, Ory Lab and Autonomous Control Systems Laboratory The Mirai Vision Forum highlighted advanced technologies that could lead to societal improvements. One presenter, Kentaro Yoshifuji, CEO at Ory Lab, recalled how, as a child, he once stayed home from school while recovering from an illness. His imagination in full flight, the youngster imagined having a clone that could attend school and be with his classmates. The experience eventually inspired him to develop OriHime, a robot that gives socially isolated people a way to communicate with friends or colleagues remotely. Originally developed for physically impaired people, OriHime today is used to help the able-bodied. The robot is situated with the companion and the user operates OriHime remotely. A camera and monitor in OriHime’s face provide the visual and audio connection and the user controls the device with a smartphone or tablet or, for those who are paralyzed, through eye movement. One potential application: With OriHime stationed at a business office, working mothers could use OriHime to telecommute to better balance their careers with their parenting responsibilities at home. The robot would be a mother’s go-between, enabling her to communicate directly with colleagues.The next generation of innovators also took the stage as five teams presented innovative business ideas in friendly competition. The top prize in The TECH CAMP Hackathon went to the group that hatched an ingenious plan to develop a jacket that trains users to move their bodies in preprogrammed ways. For example, legendary Japanese professional baseball player Shigeo Nagashima could wear the gear while batting to program the device, then give the jacket to someone who’s never swung a baseball bat. The jacket would help the user replicate Nagashima’s swing. Now comes the real work of any innovator – executing on the vision.And then came two soccer-playing artificial intelligence (AI) robots that squared off and ... Scored! The demonstration by the Toyota National College of Technology started as a research project by Toyota National College students in 2002. The young innovators designed and developed all the robotic hardware and software from scratch. Looking ahead to SEMICON Japan 2020!SEMICON Japan 2019 not only gathered leading Japanese semiconductor materials and manufacturing equipment providers to demonstrate their latest innovations. The premiere regional event also provided insights on key trends critical to the entire electronics manufacturing supply chain. This year’s event drew more than 51,000 visitors and 695 exhibitors from 15 regions filling more than 1,700 booths.SEMICON Japan 2020 returns to East Hall at Tokyo Big Sight in December 2020. I look forward to seeing you there!Jim Hamajima is president of SEMI Japan.

Smart technologies have gripped the world’s imagination with their promise to revolutionize the way we live and work. With the semiconductor supply chain central to these advances, SEMI Japan in October hosted 200 members for SEMI Japan Members Day as speakers from three of the world’s top device manufacturers – Denso, Sony and Kioxia – offered their perspectives on the strides the semiconductor industry needs to make in three key areas: automotive, smart manufacturing and 3D flash memory manufacturing technology. Automotive Evolution and Electronics – DensoThe automotive industry is re-inventing itself to innovate across connectivity, autonomy, sharing and electric (CASE) and ensure safe, comfortable and environmentally friendly autonomous driving, said Nobuaki Kawahara, executive fellow and director of the Advanced Research and Innovation Center at Denso. Key focus areas of Denso in CASE innovation are Extraordinary Safety and Everyday Confidence. The company’s goal is to minimize damage to vehicles involved in collisions or one-car accidents by making it easier for drivers to detect and steer clear of objects in their path.To improve automobile safety and security, the company is developing advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving technologies as it promotes the confluence of four areas of technology – HMI (Human Machine Interface), environmental recognition, vehicle control assistance, and information and communications. One use case Denso sees as a significant opportunity is deploying sensors such as millimeter-wave radar, cameras and LiDAR to monitor a vehicle’s surroundings, using GPS and precision mapping to pinpoint its location and determine the best route for safety and distance, and then transmitting that information to a motion-control system.Denso is also out to solve the hard challenges associated with autonomous driving in dynamic road conditions. Kawahara pointed out that road conditions vary and that rules for "driving at certain intervals in a certain lane" vary depending on the time of day. Also, on public roads in Abashiri, Hokkaido, where the company is currently conducting field tests, snowfall makes it difficult to recognize road images and gather sensor information. In Asia, it is also common for motorcycles and automobiles to speed along with very little space between them.Image Sensors to Accelerate Development of Smart Manufacturing – SonyTo fulfill the promise of smart manufacturing, the semiconductor supply chain must continue to invest in sensor and imaging technology innovation, said Shigeo Ohba, deputy senior general manager of the Imaging System Business Division at Sony Semiconductor Solutions. For its part, Sony is developing imaging sensors that help network and automate factories to achieve new production and cost efficiencies. For example, the company plans to design devices to increase equipment uptime through predictive maintenance, reduce defect rates and drive other manufacturing efficiencies. The challenge with today’s factory lines that produce a number of different devices is that they are highly complex to manage and therefore prone to human error, undercutting manufacturing efficiency. In the future, AI-powered machines will leverage data analysis to help streamline operations. Adapting an image sensor with AI to machine vision applications can simplify key processes such as measurement and inspection processes while reducing safety and security costs.Of the vast amount of information on all machines connected to the cloud, only essential details will be processed at the edge since edge data processing offers stronger security and reduces data transfer time. Ohba said image sensors will evolve based on edge AI, adding that "AI will be a paradigm shift for image sensors if it’s economically feasible."3D Flash Memory Manufacturing Technology Challenges – KioxiaIncreasing connectivity in factories for smarter, more efficient operations places huge demands on memory since networked devices typically store duplicate data, said Hideshi Miyajima, head of the Advanced Memory Development Center (AMDC) at Kioxia. To meet demand for higher networking speed and capacity, 2d NAND flash memory is moving to 3D and, in particular, three 3D techniques: multivalued memory, cell partitioning and layer stacking.To increase storage capacity, the third-generation 64-layer BiCS FLASH™ stacks layers to form nearly two trillion holes with a diameter of 100nm and a depth of 5μm on a wafer and places a uniform 2-3nm thin film on the inner wall of each 5-μm hole. For its BiCS FLASH™, Kioxia uses a dry etching technique that forms a straight, elongated through-hole and atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology, which creates a uniform laminate atomic layer on the wafer surface to grow materials uniformly and with high precision on large, complex substrates.In order to meet the cost expectations of high-volume 3D flash memory manufacturers, outlays across fabs must be reduced by better monitoring plasma control, enhancing yield through particle control, speeding film formation, and reducing gas, power and water usage, Miyajima said.SMART Transportation and SMART Manufacturing in the Spotlight at SEMICON JapanPlease join us at SEMICON Japan 2019, December 11-13 at Tokyo Big Sight, for the latest developments and trends in SMART Transportation and Smart Manufacturing. There are also a few other great reasons to attend. We look forward to seeing you in Tokyo!Jim Hamajima is president of SEMI Japan.

Famous for its warmth and hospitality, Japan always welcomes visitors from around the world with a gracious embrace. But when is the best season to visit? It depends on the interest of each visitor of course. For Instagrammers, the April cherry blossoms or November autumn leaves – a masterpiece of art with their rainbow gold, red and yellow hues – are ideal for snapping memorable pictures. For foodies, winter delights with tuna, toro sushi and other seafood at their tastiest. Wagyu peaks in richness, too, when the cold weather sets in. For anime and manga enthusiasts, August is definitely the time to visit. That’s when COMIKET, the world’s largest comic market – drawing more than a half million people – takes place in Tokyo. But for people in the electronics value chain, the perfect time to pack their bags and hop a flight to Tokyo is December, when SEMICON Japan – December 11-13 at Tokyo Big Sight – opens its doors with its own form of hospitality.Why should you attend? Here are the five top reasons.Reason 1: Japan is home to leading electronics industry suppliersAccording to VLSI Technology, seven of the top 15 semiconductor equipment suppliers in 2018 are headquartered in Japan, and many Japanese companies also lead backend equipment segments. For decades, Japanese companies have supplied about one third of the equipment for the global semiconductor equipment industry, according to SEMI and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ). Most of these companies typically set up a booth on the SEMICON Japan show floor to welcome your visit.True, many Japanese suppliers also exhibit at SEMICON shows outside of Japan to meet with customers. But you will find many more engineers, managers and executives of equipment suppliers on their home ground at SEMICON Japan, where suppliers typically debut new equipment. Their booths are also ideal locations for visitors to meet with suppliers to ask questions, exchange opinions and negotiate new business deals.Japanese materials suppliers enjoy an even larger market share, providing about half the materials for the global semiconductor industry. These suppliers dominate in silicon wafers, photomasks, photoresists, sputtering targets, packaging substrates, bonding wires, leadframes, mold compounds and wafer level packaging dielectrics. Unlike equipment suppliers, not all materials companies exhibit. Instead, many participate as speakers and attend to connect with customers.Reason 2: Get ready for the next semiconductor industry upturnA year ago, in late 2018, we expected chip inventory to stabilize by mid-2019, yet the industry still struggles with high inventory overall and low average selling price for memory. The SEMI 2019 equipment billing forecast was lowered accordingly from -4.0 percent growth (2018 year-end forecast) to -18.4 percent (2019 mid-year forecast). However, the two forecasts still predict positive growth in 2020. As SEMICON Japan 2019 is underway, we should be at the beginning of the next upturn.The chart below shows that more wafer process fabs will start construction in 2020 than this year. (Please see article: Nearly $50 Billion in Fabs to Start Construction in 2020.) Custer Consulting Group also pointed to “a resumption in semiconductor chip and capital equipment growth in late 2019 or early 2020.” (Please see article: Semiconductor Industry Upturn by Early 2020?.)With better times ahead, SEMICON Japan 2019 will be an opportune time to exchange opinions with key players across the supply chain and start negotiations for the coming robust recovery of the equipment, components and materials markets.Reason 3: Glimpse the future at SuperTHEATERSEMICON Japan SuperTHEATER will feature industry and technology insights from global visionaries. Asako Eda, Japan’s chief representative officer of the World Economic Forum and the former president of Intel Japan, will open the SuperTHEATER with her keynote on how we live in an era where the fourth industrial revolution, climate change, disparity and geopolitical risks are affecting our lives and with the speed we have never experienced. She will explore the growing role of innovation and social responsibility and how the World Economic Forum is addressing associated challenges. The opening keynote session will also feature Nandan Nayampally, vice president and general manager of the Immersive Experience group at Arm.In all, the SuperTHEATER will host seven keynote forums over three days at SEMICON Japan including: Semiconductor Executive Forum – Terushi Shimizu, representative director and president of Sony Semiconductor Solutions, and Atsuyoshi Koike, president of Western Digital Japan, will discuss their business strategies and prospects. Manufacturing Innovation Summit – Executives from Applied Materials, KLA, Nikon and Tokyo Electron will discuss business and technology issues as well as innovations that will drive growth to 2030. All seven SuperTHEATER programs will be simultaneously translated to English for international audiences.Reason 4: Connect to application communitiesCollaboration across the value chain has never been more important to industry innovation and growth – the very reason SEMI has expanded its reach beyond the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain (equipment and materials) to include design, systems and products.The SEMICON Japan show and conferences will connect you to key application segments of the value chain. The SuperTHEATER will host two SMART transportation forums highlighting the latest developments in autonomous driving and sky transportation (flying cars). In the SMART Applications Zone on the show floor, you’ll find electronics products and technologies showcased for automotive and manufacturing automation as the autonomous driving pavilion highlights emerging technologies that are driving semiconductor innovation opportunities. Reason 5: Learn from disaster and recovery experiencesJapan has taken important disaster recovery lessons from devastating earthquakes over the past three decades, most notably the Kumamoto quake in 2016, the Tohoku temblor in 2011 and the Kobe rattler in 1995. So has the Japan electronics supply chain, including SEMI members. In the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) area at SEMICON Japan 2019, exhibitors including DISCO, Murata Machinery and THK will highlight technologies that can strengthen your preparedness for a disaster and aid in the recovery.On December 12 at the BCP seminar at Japan 2019, Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing, DISCO and Team Engineering Consulting will share their experiences and expertise in mitigating the disaster impacts. (Sony and Disco will present in Japanese.)To get the feel for the magnitude of a major earthquake and how seismic isolation protects against structural damage, be sure to take advantage of THK’s earthquake experience car. Seismic isolation installs isolators – rubber bearings, friction bearings, ball bearings, spring systems or other devices – beneath a building to buffer earthquake vibrations transmitted to structures.More reasons to attend SEMICON JapanAnd of course your visit to Tokyo for SEMICON Japan 2019 wouldn’t be complete without exploring Tokyo and other regions to experience Japan’s exotic culture, cityscapes and cuisine! Here are some resources to give you even more reasons to book a flight to Tokyo: Japan National Tourism Organization Go Tokyo Kyoto Tourism I look forward to seeing you at SEMICON Japan in December!Jim Hamajima is president of SEMI Japan.

Wedged among four major tectonic plates, Japan is at the mercy of their abrupt herculean shifts and the earthquakes and tsunamis they can trigger. The fallout can be devastating. The magnitude 9 Great East Japan (Tohoku) temblor in 2011 and ensuing tsunami took nearly 20,000 lives, destroyed 138,000 buildings and cost $360 billion in economic damage.Factories including silicon wafer production facilities owned by Shin-Etsu Chemical and MEMC Electronic Materials – together accounting for 25 percent of the global silicon wafer production – sustained heavy damage. Operations were suspended. The Kumamoto earthquake in 2016 also caused significant damage. The economic cost: as much as $7.5 billion.With disaster risk rising on a global scale, these calamities offer valuable lessons in disaster preparedness and how companies can draw from their experiences to strengthen business continuity planning (BCP).Earthquake experiences and lessons in BCP were the focus of the recent SEMI Japan Members Day as speakers from five semiconductor device and equipment manufacturers offered their BCP strategies to about 150 SEMI members. Following are key takeaways from their presentations. Renesas: Create a robust production plant that is hard to break and easy to fixRenesas Semiconductor Manufacturing’s Naka plant took about 80 days to resume production while its ability to deliver semiconductors was delayed even longer as it recovered from damage caused by the Tohoku earthquake, said Yoshiyuki Miyamoto, Representative Director and President at Renesas. Operations at the company’s Kawajiri plant were disrupted by the Kumamoto earthquake.A key lesson from both earthquakes: The company needed to promote risk visualization from top-to-bottom in the supply chain. With the goal of making its plants easy to repair but hard to break down, Renesas implemented a risk management plan for earthquake preparedness plan to ensure stronger production line resistance and a stable supply to customers. The company ran simulations of multiple earthquake scenarios including aftershocks, enabling it to develop new BCP training and preparedness measures. Sony: Staying transparent about the disaster, sharing and interacting with related companiesYukihide Keigo, a representative from the Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing, showed footage taken the day the Kumamoto earthquake damaged a production line at its Kumamoto Technology Center. Sony is the top manufacturer of imaging sensors worldwide, and the Kumamoto plant is the backbone of that production. The magnitude of the foreshock fell within levels Sony had accounted for in its BCP at that time, and the line was expected to return to full production within a week. However, the magnitude of the earthquake that followed outstripped expectations, and the company’s BCP didn’t hold up. Three and a half months later, the plant had finally fully recovered. The protracted recovery prompted Sony to develop an earthquake preparedness plan using a model that assumed double the magnitude of expectations. For full restoration, the company identified challenges to returning to full operation at each stage of the production line. Then it went even further, developing in-house diagnostics, implementing critical path methods and strengthening earthquake resistance of equipment that manages bottlenecks for the restart of the plant. The revision of its BCP plan led to the establishment of a system to shorten the resumption of production after a major earthquake to just two months.Sony shared the contents of its BCP review with other companies to solicit help identifying any gaps and highlighted its partnership with Renesas in the Semiconductor Industry Association in Japan (JSIA), a committee of the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), to share materials procurement resources for the purposes of disaster preparedness and business continuity. HORIBA STEC: Steady daily practices protect hundreds of millions of yen worth of products HORIBA STEC’s Aso plant, near the epicenter of the Kumamoto earthquake, suffered heavy damage that cut off electricity and the water supply, yet production in its clean room resumed in just 10 days, said Hiroyuki Koyama, a factory manager at the plant. The plant’s quick recovery stemmed from daily preventive measures implemented before the quake such as connecting freestanding shelves for greater stability, applying thick rubber bands as rails to prevent manufactured goods from falling to the floor, and placing equipment on rolling carriages instead of fixed shelves.The practices saved the Aso plant hundreds of millions of yen in products and materials that otherwise could have been lost in the earthquake. Koyama also offered the reminder that, with regulations governing factory layout and construction differing widely depending on factors such as a building’s age, companies need to tailor their BCPs to the unique characteristics of each building. THK: The key point of dampening earthquakesTHK’s ACE Division develops earthquake dampening and vibration control devices designed to absorb the vibrational energy of an earthquake, though the devices must also be designed for precise analysis of that energy, said Hidemi Murao. Murao provided an overview of the latest technologies and products for dampening earthquake vibrations and shared test results from experimental devices.Murao described how THK’s recently introduced Linear Motion (LM) Guide, an earthquake vibration dampening technology, can significantly reduce building vibrations during a temblor. In a video Murao showed to demonstrate how the guide works, a shelf loaded with equipment rests on a platform equipped with THK’s LM Guide equipment. Simulating an earthquake, the platform shakes vigorously in every direction but the shelf remains steady as the LM Guide dampens the vibrations. The platforms can be installed on floors or underground in buildings or factories to prevent shelves from toppling. Tokyo Electron: The ideal BCP management systemOne risk associated with BCP training is that it can become overly routine, dulling the response of employees in actual disasters, said Tokyo Electron Vice President Tatsuya Aso. To help keep its workers’ skills sharp, TEL held surprise drills with employees assigned to particular BCP roles to test their ability to adapt quickly to when disaster strikes. In addition, TEL has launched surveys in more than 70 overseas locations to optimize safety in these high-hazard facilities.The SEMI Japan Members Day presentations made clear that the issue of BCP transcends boundaries between individuals, manufacturers, regions, and sectors within the global electronics supply chain. Disaster preparedness requires problem-solving across the entire supply chain, with companies sharing technical knowledge, offering mutual aid, and striving for continual improvement. Collaborative is essential. At SEMICON Japan 2019, SEMI will continue to bring companies together to address BCP initiatives and share their technical knowledge with members. Jim Hamajima is president of SEMI Japan.

Five young dancers bathed in a striking rainbow of colors with their silhouettes cast in the background dazzled SEMICON Japan 2018 attendees at the opening ceremony in mid-December. Gone were the standard opening keynotes and ribbon cutting, replaced by live performance and media art set against a dramatic black backdrop. There was no mistaking the wide-eyed looks of wonder in the audience.In its sheer vibrance, the opening ceremony thrilled with an excitement that seemed to embody the extraordinary growth expectations for the global semiconductor supply chain over the next five years, with the industry poised to double sales from $2 trillion to a staggering $4 trillion – a phenomena SEMI president and CEO Ajit Manocha has called The Rebirth of the Semiconductor Industry. Driving this unprecedented growth will be SMART applications that are transforming industries and applications worldwide, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.The dramatic scene at SEMICON Japan 2018 was staged by Rhizomatiks, a media arts company that produced the Rio Olympic Games closing ceremony and is famous for its pop music spectacles. The company’s CTO, Motoi Ishibashi, the event’s first keynote speaker, described his team’s development of drones and vehicles guided by motion and precision-control technologies. It was some of these SMART vehicles that maneuvered the opening ceremony performers from the dance company Elevenplay onstage. Only Rhizomatiks, Ishibashi said, has this capability. In its mission to enrich people’s lives through new media arts, Rhizomatiks uses the latest virtual and mixed-reality technologies to orchestrate not only dance performances but music videos, commercials, fashion shows and festivals.Toru Nishikawa, the second keynote speaker and CEO at Preferred Networks, a leading Japan-based developer of deep learning software programs, surprised the SEMICON Japan audience with his discussion of his company’s work to develop a specialized chip for deep learning processing, joining technology giants Apple, Google, Alibaba and Microsoft in chip design. As more IT and software companies develop specialized, differentiated chips, the devices are quickly becoming the heartbeat of SMART technologies. The company’s approach has taken hold. Only four years old, Preferred Networks is enjoying rapid growth by working with global powerhouses including Toyota, NTT, Panasonic, Fanuc, NVIDIA, Intel and Microsoft. Ishibashi’s and Nishikawa’s fresh visions and the media arts extravaganza reflected the success of SEMICON Japan, held again at Tokyo Big Sight: The event’s 1,881 booths – filled by 727 exhibitors from 14 regions – was the highest count in six years. With Japan home to companies that supply about 40 percent of semiconductor equipment and materials worldwide, top suppliers historically have occupied the largest spaces on the SEMICON Japan show floor.According to IDC, personal computers and smartphones, long the largest revenue sources for the semiconductor industry, will remain top revenue drivers in the coming years. But revenue from new SMART technologies for applications such as automotive and factory automation is growing, a trend expected to continue with a 2018-2022 CAGR of 9.5 percent for automotive and 5.2 percent for manufacturing, compared to 1.1 percent for PCs and 2.9 percent for smartphones.SEMICON Japan’s new SMART Applications zone highlighted these and other new market opportunities for semiconductor growth with product and technology exhibits from companies including Bosch, IBM, Microsoft, NEC, Preferred Networks, Sony, SAS, Siemens, Tesla and Toyota. But the zone wasn’t all work and no play. The ROBOT SQUARE and SPORTS x IOT robot exhibits took visitors back to their school days, with robot anime – from Astro Boy to Gundam and Evangelion – that they could ride and control! As the World Gets Smarter, So Must SEMICON and the IndustryWe all agree the world is getting smarter at a fast pace. New cars are easier to drive – some models are almost fully autonomous on highways and streets. Your SMART speaker has gone well beyond an audio playback device and is more like a home AI platform. Almost all storefronts are equipped with video cameras. Your workplace, whether an office or a factory, is driven by automation. The reliance of these environments and devices on semiconductors is driving exponential chip and changing the world. Businesses need to adapt and so do SEMICON events. We’re doing just that as SEMICON Japan 2018 demonstrated – from an opening ceremony enabled by technology innovation to new faces of the industry to the SMART Application zone. As the SEMICON Japan presidents’ reception concluded the first day of the show, a robot from the ROBOT SQUARE suddenly appeared in the reception hall in front of about 250 executives from the global industry. Everyone at the reception was impressed and stepped forward to the stage, reflecting the overall excitement about SEMICON Japan, which for many years showcased only chip manufacturing equipment and materials. This year, to keep pace with the changing world, it was much more than that.SEMICON Japan 2019 will again take place in December at Tokyo Big Sight. However, organizers of the Tokyo Olympics will be using the East Exhibit Hall usually occupied by SEMICON Japan to prepare for the games. As a result, SEMICON Japan will be held in the West and South Halls instead. Look for more changes to the event. I hope to see you next year!Jim Hamajima is president of SEMI Japan.