The Japanese government will tighten export restrictions on three kinds of materials that are indispensable for manufacturing semiconductors for smartphones. Japanese companies are worried that their performance will be affected and that they will affect the long-term development of the semiconductor industry in Japan.
Japan will restrict exports of semiconductor materials to Korea
Japan's Ministry of Economy and Industry announced Monday that it will strengthen the inspection and control of semiconductor materials exported to Korea and exclude Korea from trade & ldquo; white list & rdquo; and so on.
Previously, the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Industry of Japan formulated a list of friendly target countries for security and trade in high-tech products and weapons, also known as & ldquo; white list & rdquo; Japan can export products to the target countries through a relatively simplified procedure: ldquo; white list & rdquo; and the target countries in the list.
According to Kyodo News, the export controls were strengthened by hydrogen fluoride for semiconductor cleaning, fluorinated Polyimides for Smartphone display screens and photosensitizers-ldquo; photoresist-rdquo; these three materials.
Japan has adopted preferential measures to simplify export procedures to South Korea, but plans to remove the preferential list from the 4th of this month. After being excluded, every export must be submitted to the government for examination, usually for about 90 days.
It is said that the three materials mentioned above can be used for chemical and biological weapons. Japanese enterprises such as Xinyue Chemical Industry and STELLA CHEMIFA have a large share in the international market. The Daily Government is considering further enlargement of the list for South Korea. However, if the regulation is strengthened, the Japanese enterprises may also be affected. The Japanese government will carefully examine the varieties.
Japanese media analysis said that Japan's move was a retaliatory measure against Korea & ldquo; forced labor claims & rdquo; and so on. Yonhap previously reported that senior Japanese and Korean government officials held talks again on issues such as & ldquo; forced labor claims & rdquo; during the G-20 Leaders'summit, but the two sides did not reach an agreement.
Japanese media analysis believes that Japan's export restrictions on South Korea, on the one hand, make the relationship between Japan and South Korea more tense, on the other hand, will also affect the long-term development of Japan's semiconductor industry. Because if Korea cannot import semiconductor related materials from Japan stably, it will turn to other countries, which will lead to the development of semiconductor industry in Japan as a whole.
Japanese companies fear that their performance will be affected
Kyodo News Agency said that the Japanese government's restrictions on these materials, and even Japan's 9-component global materials, will certainly hit the Korean manufacturing industry. However, Japanese exporters are also likely to be affected, with voices fearing that their performance will be affected and that export procedures will become cumbersome.

On the first day the Japanese government announced that it would tighten restrictions, Japanese companies were busy confirming whether their products were among the targets. Export to Korea of the photosensitizer-ldquo; photoresist-rdquo coated on semiconductor substrates, the head of the chemical manufacturer expressed his concern that it would take a lot of time if export formalities were handled one by one. Perhaps the result is a decline in sales. & rdquo;
The photoresist giant Tokyo Yinghua Chemical Industry (Kawasaki City) has a production base in Korea and believes that the influence is limited. Mitsui Chemicals, who runs the photolithographic collagen business, said: & ldquo; if the variety increase is limited in the future, it may also have some impact. Attention will be paid to trends. & rdquo;
In addition, hydrogen fluoride, fluorinated polyimides used in carving semiconductor circuits and cleaning, etc. are also restricted objects, and it is difficult for enterprises to speculate on the impact.
On the other hand, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which have a large market share in the field of organic EL display, will face heavy losses. The head of Japan's semiconductor giant said: & ldquo; if not imported, Korean factories may not be able to produce. & rdquo; however, there are also large motor manufacturers in Japan who use LG organic EL for high-definition 4K TV sets, which may be affected.
Korean media said semiconductor inventories could last only three or four months.
Korea's Chosun Daily reported Tuesday that if three kinds of materials needed in the manufacturing process such as semiconductors cannot be imported due to the Japanese government's tightening export control to Korea, semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will keep their stocks for about one month, even if they add about three months of finished products to their stocks, they will only be able to maintain their stocks for three or four months.& Rdquo;. MBC TV points out that the worst case scenario is the possible shutdown of factory production lines.
Among the materials imported by Korean enterprises from January to May, the proportion produced in Japan was 43.9% for hydrogen fluoride and 93.7% for fluorinated polyimide.
The export expansion of Korea's semiconductor industry had previously supported the country's economic growth. According to the Korea Trade Association, semiconductor exports amounted to $50.4 billion in 2012, accounting for only 9% of total exports, while in 2018 they increased to $126.7 billion, accounting for about 21%. Others point out that this is & ldquo; over-reliance on & rdquo; if Japan's export restrictions directly hit, the impact will be very large.
Cheng Yunmou, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Resources of South Korea, said on the same day about Japan's measures, & ldquo; expressed deep regret for this, & rdquo; & ldquo; in the future, necessary measures will be taken, such as filing a complaint to the WTO, & rdquo;.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Resources of South Korea decided to spend 6 trillion won (35.29 billion yuan) on research and development of semiconductor materials, components and equipment on 3 days in response to Japan's restrictions on exports to South Korea.
According to the Ministry of Industry, based on the manufacturing Revival Strategy released last month, the investment direction of materials, spare parts and equipment industry has been further refined. The project of investing 1 trillion won in research and development of semiconductor materials, components and equipment has been completed in the ten years since 2020.Feasibility survey. As for general materials, spare parts and equipment, the government is investigating the feasibility of investing 5 trillion won in six years starting in 2021.