The European Union and Japan have decided to strengthen their technological collaboration in the broad sense to give themselves a chance against the American and Chinese giants.
Traveling to Tokyo on Monday, the European Commissioner in charge of the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, expressed his desire to strengthen ties between the European Union and Japan on multiple technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence , cybersecurity and submarine cables. His visit was well received in the land of the Rising Sun, where industrialists and political leaders ask for nothing better than to work hand in hand with the Old Continent.
Japan needs the European Union, and vice versa
A vital technology in the electronics, defense and automotive sectors, semiconductors were at the center of talks between the EU and Japan earlier this week. The two blocs have agreed to jointly oversee the chip supply chain, guided by research and resilience.
” High-performance computers and chips are essential, and Europe is the perfect place to invest “, declared Thierry Breton. He estimates that ” chips below 2 nanometers will be strategic for artificial intelligence, for any low-power technology and for the industry of the future “. These chips should irrigate the technology sector in the next 5 years, starting with smartphones and tablets.
This collaboration should make it possible to facilitate the exchange of researchers and engineers, and to facilitate both the reception and the establishment of Japanese companies specializing in semiconductors within the European Union. Japan has already planned to heavily subsidize its flagships in this area, but its government is aware that more needs to be done. Hence the future collaboration with the EU.
A protocol signed for an EU-Japan submarine cable
The EU’s Japanese partners have planned to visit Europe early next year to continue discussions and discuss a potential timetable. In Tokyo, Thierry Breton also mentioned another major issue of the two blocks: that of the connectivity of submarine cables. The leader indeed wishes to connect Europe to Japan using a 14,000 kilometer cable, which would constitute, in his own words, ” an important geopolitical gesture ” for various reasons.
First, such a cable would provide the two partners with choke points allowing them to circumvent Russia and the Suez Canal, which are compulsory crossings today. It would also give digital players the opportunity to reduce the latency of exchanges and strengthen the cybersecurity of the two blocks.
The discussions were fruitful on this subject, since a memorandum of understanding was signed on Monday with the Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs, Takeaki Matsumoto.
Source : Reuters
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