Japan tightens export controls on more chip and quantum tech

Japan said it plans to expand restrictions on exports of four technologies related to semiconductors or quantum computing, the latest in a global push to control the flow of strategic tech.

Tokyo’s new measures will affect scanning electron microscopes, used to analyze nanoparticle images, and gate-all-around transistors, a technology embraced by Samsung Electronics Co. to improve semiconductor design. Japan will also require licenses for shipments of cryogenic CMOS circuits used in quantum computers, as well as for quantum computers themselves.

Such shipments to all countries, including most-favored trading partners South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, will require sign-offs by export control officials.

The move is designed to better oversee exports of components with military applications, and is in step with similar moves around the world, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Friday. The change will take effect as early as July, after a period of public comment through May 25, METI said.

Last year, Japan expanded restrictions on exports of 23 types of leading-edge chipmaking technology. That measure came on the heels of US efforts to limit China’s access to key semiconductor processes. Washington officials have lobbied international partners like Japan and the Netherlands to match its trade sanctions on China, which the US sees as a geopolitical and potentially military rival.