Japan will impose export restrictions on 23 semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the government said on Friday, amid an ongoing spat between the United States and China over chip technology.
The export control measures will take effect in July and cover equipment for cleaning, checkups, and lithography—a key technology in manufacturing advanced semiconductors—according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
“It is to prevent our technology from being diverted for military use,” METI Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters, Kyodo News reported. “We will fulfill our responsibility to the international community.”
Japan said that 42 countries, including the United States and Taiwan, will continue receiving the equipment under a simplified export measure. But China was not among them and will be subject to stricter controls….