Harris calls for 'increased cooperation in chip procurement'

Meeting with representatives of the Japanese business community including Nikon, Fujitsu, Hitachi High-Tech and Tokyo Electron in Tokyo, US Vice President Kamala Harris called on Japanese companies to increase cooperation in the chip sector in order to strengthen their supply chains. US Vice President Kamala Harris met with representatives of the Japanese business community including Nikon, Fujitsu, Hitachi High-Tech and Tokyo Electron at the US Embassy Residence in Tokyo. Speaking here, Harris emphasized the importance of chip supplies in ensuring economic growth and security, saying that Japan plays a “vital role” in this area. “We recognize that no one country can meet global demand. It is important for the US and our allies to work together in a way that will enable practical levels of growth and functionality,” Harris said. “Japan and the US share a commitment to investing in forward-looking innovation and working for a resilient supply chain,” Harris said, calling on Japanese companies to increase sectoral cooperation. "Contradiction is necessary" Harris recalled the "Creating Helpful Incentives to Manufacture Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act", which US President Joe Biden signed last month to increase domestic production. Stating that the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic have revealed weaknesses in countries' supply chains, Harris said, "We have to diversify our dependencies on essential supplies." In the face of increasing global semiconductor demand from mobile phones to automobiles, developed countries think that unstable supply could have major economic repercussions.