Chapter 462: Home
This time, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry came to visit Shirakawa Kaede, and it was no longer the former ministers and officials who came to visit.
The leader was none other than Tamura Hajime, the first Minister of International Trade and Industry in the current Takenaka Cabinet, and also there was Sugiyama Kazuo, the administrative officer who had accompanied them last time.
Even Uno Sosuke, whose age was becoming increasingly apparent, dragged his sick body to visit the SIC building again.
After greeting them, Shirakawa Feng went out of his way to support Uno Sosuke who was coughing non-stop.
"Uno-san, why bother? If you need anything, just let me know and Shirakawa will come visit you."
Uno Sosuke, who was wearing black-framed glasses, smiled and waved his hands, "I'm old, and my body is not very useful anymore.
It is a bit abrupt for me, the Foreign Minister, to come and visit you today."
"You are so polite. It is our honor to have you, Mr. Tamura and Mr. Sugiyama visit SIC again."
No matter what the other party's purpose was, Baichuan Feng flattered him enthusiastically.
As the saying goes, too much courtesy is never a problem.
After a few pleasantries, everyone sat down in the conference room.
Uno Munen looked around with emotion, "Although there is not much change here since the last time I came, the changes in SIC in the international market are amazing."
The last time he came here, SIC was just beginning to emerge in Neon.
Now, in just three or four years, SIC has already ranked third in the global processor market.
In just a few years, the changes have been enormous.
Although currently in the semiconductor field, Japan's mainstay business is DRAM chips.
However, as the computer market has become increasingly hot in the past two years, many people have probably already vaguely seen the prospects for processor chips.
Especially since Intel completely abandoned its DRAM business in 1985 and determined that processors would be the core of its future business in 1986, more and more attention has been focused on this field.
This is also the reason why Uno Muneno, who has already served as Foreign Minister, still visited the SIC in a private capacity.
As its role in future cutting-edge fields becomes increasingly evident, SIC is no longer shouldering responsibilities that are solely those of a private company.
The fact that two high-ranking officials from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and a Foreign Minister came together to visit at this time was enough to explain the problem.
"Mr. Shirakawa, excuse me for asking. I heard that an investor from North America visited you recently?"
After exchanging a few words with each other, the current Minister of International Trade and Industry, Motoko Tamura, turned the topic to SIC.
After the other party asked this question, Baichuan Feng had a clue in his mind.
As expected, people who are paying attention to SIC are no longer limited to the business community.
Cutting-edge technology, especially semiconductors, one of Japan's three major pillar industries, has received more attention from the Japanese government than Shirakawa Feng could have imagined.
In response to Tamura Moto's question, Shirakawa Kaede nodded generously.
“Indeed, SIC’s business development focus has gradually shifted from Japan to the global market.
North American computers have always been the core of the global market, so SIC and several computer manufacturers in North America are discussing the possibility of further cooperation. "
"Go one step further?" Tamura Moto keenly grasped the key point.
"That's right, about the direction of financing." Baichuan Feng still chose to be direct.
"Shirakawa-san!" Sugiyama Kazuo, who had been sitting on the side as a guest, couldn't help but straighten his body.
Seeing Shirakawa Kaede's questioning look, Sugiyama Kazuo immediately lowered his head.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Shirakawa. It's not my intention or that of the MITI to interfere with the operation of SIC. But please think twice about the financing issue.
SIC is the only company in Japan that can independently design processor chips. If American capital is allowed to intervene, then SIC’s pedigree will be…”
Sugiyama Kazuo subconsciously wanted to say that SIC's pure Japanese bloodline would be lost, but he stopped himself halfway through the words.
"In any case, please think twice, Mr. Shirakawa. If SIC needs financing, the Bank of Japan can provide an interest-free loan.
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry can also be responsible for introducing other companies with strong financial resources.
But the money wolves on Wall Street are definitely not easy to deal with. Going back on their words and being double-dealing have almost become instinct for them.
As a technology company, SIC should not be caught up in endless internal strife."
It can be Sugiyama Kazuo does have a deep sense of regret, and his ideas are also typical of the conservative thinking of Japanese businessmen.
Although what he said seemed a bit abrupt, neither Tamura Motoshi nor Uno Sosuke spoke out to stop him.
Needless to say, these words may not necessarily be their thoughts, or even the thoughts of a considerable number of people within the Neon government.
After Sugiyama Kazuo explained the pros and cons, the meeting room fell into a brief silence.
Shima Masayoshi, who was sitting next to Shirakawa Kaede, wanted to say something, but he waved his hand to signal the latter not to worry.
"Tamura-san, Uno-san, and Sugiyama-san, I am aware of your concerns.
But some things are hard to be perfect.
When faced with choices, you must decide what to keep or what to give up, which is a difficult problem.
When SIC faces the future, if it wants to survive, it must give up something.”
As soon as Baichuan Feng finished speaking, the faces of the people opposite him changed slightly.
"Mr. Shirakawa, has SIC encountered any difficulties?
If so, please speak up and MITI will do everything it can to help SIC through this difficult time.”
Tamura Moto and the others were actually a little confused. From what Shirakawa Kaede said, it seemed that this was related to the life and death of SIC.
But in their opinion, the current SIC clearly has a bright future. Could it be that there are hidden dangers that they are not aware of?
In response to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry's concern, Shirakawa Feng first nodded in thanks, and then sighed with emotion.
"Everyone, Neon Semiconductor is in a very critical situation right now.
If SIC does not make changes, it will most likely disappear silently in the long river of history in the future.”
"Mr. Shirakawa, are you worrying too much?" Sugiyama Kazuo thought Shirakawa Kaede was too pessimistic.
Although Japan and the United States have signed a semiconductor agreement, they are now facing some difficulties.
But according to the financial statements, Neon Semiconductor still occupies more than 80% of the global market share this year.
At this moment, Baichuan Feng said that the situation of Neon Semiconductor was already very critical, which he could not understand no matter what.
Facing his doubts, Baichuan Feng explained calmly.
“The impact of the signing of the US-Japan Semiconductor Agreement on Neon Semiconductor did not happen overnight.
This is a long process and will have a profound impact on the entire industrial chain.
Without discussing the long-term direction for now, the United States has intensified its sanctions on Japan's semiconductor industry this year, and even extended it to the export of electronic products.
Only a few large companies can withstand the 100% tariff. If it drags on for too long, a considerable number of small and medium-sized enterprises will face difficulties.
Targeting the international environment and the difficulties encountered by businesses in reality.
This will greatly reduce Japan's domestic capital and investment enthusiasm in the semiconductor industry.
In addition, in the face of Japan's high semiconductor share, the United States will definitely have more stringent follow-up measures.
Under the dual influence of external and internal factors, how long do you think Neon Semiconductor can last?"
Although Shirakawa Kaede's voice was neither hurried nor slow, it sounded like a loud bell to Tamura Moto and the others.
"Bai... Shirakawa-san, do you think the United States will continue to target Japan's semiconductors?"
After coughing twice, Uno Sosuke looked at Shirakawa Kaede tremblingly.
"This is just my guess, just one person's opinion. You don't have to take it seriously, Yuno-san."
Although he knew that this was the fact, Baichuan Feng could only say this.
However, after hearing this, Uno Sosuke's expression became even uglier.
What he feared most was hearing Baichuan Feng say that it was just a guess. The last time was three years ago, he made the same guess to himself.
The fifth trade friction between Japan and the United States will focus on the semiconductor field.
As it turned out, all these speculations came true.
Now, Uno Sosuke heard again Shirakawa Kaede's judgment on the future of Neon Semiconductor.
Although the incident has not happened yet, Shirakawa Kaede's pessimistic attitude has already made Uno Sosuke very alert.
"Mr. Shirakawa, in your opinion, what is the future of semiconductors in Japan?"
At this point, Uno Sosuke just laid it all out. He really wanted to hear Shirakawa Kaede's in-depth views on the semiconductor industry.
When they heard him ask this question, not only Shirakawa Kaede, but also Tamura Moto and Sugiyama Kazuo's expressions changed slightly.
However, because Uno Sosuke visited in a private capacity, the other two ministers of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry did not react excessively.
"Mr. Yuno, you are so kind to me. The lifeblood of an industry depends on how the country treats it.
Although SIC has a certain reputation, it is still too insignificant compared with the entire industrial chain. "
Bai Chuanfeng didn't dare to speak casually about such a grand proposition. Some things are enough to know, but don't get too involved.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Shirakawa, this is a private discussion and does not involve national policy."
Uno Sosuke quickly said something to comfort him, and Tamura Moto and the others nodded, indicating that they could speak freely.
Well, since it was defined as a private discussion, he would just say a few words to avoid them suspecting that he had some secret channel.
"I have no idea where Japan's semiconductors will go in the future.
But as a businessman, Baichuan understands that a product goes through a lot from production to sales and even the after-sales service.
In this entire industrial chain, each participant is bound to make a profit.
If there is a problem in any link, such as losses or falling profits, it may affect the stability of the entire industrial chain.
And these will eventually be fed back to the end, and it will be the market that will cause turbulence.”
“What Shirakawa-san meant was that due to the U.S. sanctions, profits in Japan’s semiconductor industry have fallen.
This will eventually lead to a year-on-year decrease in the amount of money major semiconductor companies invest in the research and development of new generation technologies.
Over time, if technology updates and iterations cannot keep up with the mainstream, will they eventually be eliminated by the market? "
After listening to Shirakawa Kaede's explanation, Sugiyama Kazuo quickly thought of some of the key factors.
"Mr. Sugiyama is right," Shirakawa Feng nodded in agreement. It seems that the Ministry of International Trade and Industry is not short of people who have in-depth research on the industrial chain.
“But this is only one aspect. Please also understand the other side.
No matter how popular a product is at the beginning, the market will eventually become saturated as time goes by.
The same is true for the semiconductor industry. Will the world's demand for DRAM still be as great in five or ten years?
If the market is saturated and Neon Semiconductor is facing sanctions, what will be the outcome?
In addition, these are all reasons at the macro level of the market. The real mastermind behind the scenes is the United States.
Have you ever wondered why Japan has signed a semiconductor agreement, but the United States is still so aggressive? "
Baichuan Feng's repeated question shocked several visitors from the government, as if they had grasped something vaguely.
