TOKYO: Japan’s industry ministry said Friday that it will establish by year-end a new research and development center for next-generation semiconductors envisioned under a joint project with the United States.

The ministry will also provide 70 billion yen in aid to a new company established by eight major Japanese companies to develop advanced semiconductors.

Amid intensifying global competition to develop cutting-edge chips, the Japanese government aims to promote the development and mass production of state-of-the-art chips through cooperation with the United States and the private sector.

“As semiconductors are becoming even more important in terms of economic security, we want to strengthen the competitiveness of Japan’s chip industry also through partnerships with US and other foreign research institutions,” industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told a press conference.

The planned R&D center, the Leading-edge Semiconductor Technology Center (LSTC), will be joined by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, or AIST, government-backed research institute Riken and the University of Tokyo.

Rapidus, the company that was set up by the eight Japanese firms including Toyota Motor Corp. and Nippon Telegraph & and Telephone Corp., will also take part in the LSTC.

Rapidus aims to realize production of 2-nanometer chips, which have not been put into practical use, in the second half of the 2020s.

Next-generation chips that would be able to process vast amounts of data instantly are considered indispensable for such advanced technologies as artificial intelligence and autonomous driving.

At a meeting in July of their foreign and economic ministers, Japan and the United States agreed to jointly develop such semiconductors for mass production.