Article: Japan’s Latest Export Regulations on Semiconductors: A Plurilateral Approach with Bite

In July 2023 Japan’s latest export tightening regulations on semiconductor manufacturing equipment took effect. These export regulations, implemented in coordination with the United States and the Netherlands, are significant in several respects: they have direct legal and potentially financial implications for Japan’s leading equipment suppliers, they represent a departure from Japan’s past approach of implementing in domestic law only those restrictions found in multilateral control lists, and the efficacy of these regulations in achieving their aims is as yet uncertain. Exporters may need to apply for one or more export licenses in order to comply with these regulations, or to try to take advantage of certain exemptions allowed by the law, such as the low-value goods exemption. As these regulations (and related regulations in the United States) are complex, effectively addressing their consequences will require market participants to take a detail-oriented and proactive approach. In the short term, various forces, including these regulations, appear to be driving on-shoring and decoupling of production: multiple Japanese and foreign parties are already investing billions in new semiconductor production in Japan. Semiconductors, Japan, Export Control, Chips, Control List, Lithography, Plurilateral Agreements