Headlines:
- SoftBank acquires Intel stake but bilat investment “deal” unsettled
- Nvidia joins Japanese effort to replace Fugaku supercomputer
- Yonaguni island elects new mayor more cautious about military presence
- US AI firm responds to Japanese lawsuits with revenue offer
- USFJ marks milestone in C2 upgrade ahead of major exercises
Details:
- SoftBank and Intel announced Aug 18 that the Japanese company would make a $2 billion investment in the American chipmaker. The move reflects allied interest in strengthening semiconductor production and might foreshadow increased Japanese investment as part of a July “deal” to direct up to $550 billion of Japanese investment toward strategic US industries. The vague investment commitment was supposed to reduce Japan’s auto tariff exposure, but the allies have struggled to articulate a common understanding and implementation is stalled. US Commerce Secretary Lutnick said that details of the investment fund would be announced this week, but Japanese negotiator Akazawa cancelled his planned US trip last minute to allow for more working-level negotiations. SoftBank’s investment in Intel coincides with a Trump administration-Intel announcement that the government would invest $8.9 billion in Intel in exchange for a 9.9% stake as part of an effort to expand resilient semiconductor supply chains.
- US chip giant Nvidia will partner with Japan’s Fujitsu and Riken (research institute) to develop “FugakuNEXT” by around 2030 as an upgraded successor to the Fugaku supercomputer. Once the fastest supercomputer in the world, Fugaku now ranks 7th but will become five to ten times more powerful with the upgrade. Nvidia will contribute graphics processing units to create a new supercomputer to enable breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and other fields.
- Yonaguni island in Okinawa elected a new mayor August 24 in a close contest between incumbent Kenichi Itokazu, who had welcomed Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to bolster the nation’s defense, and Tsuneo Uechi, who expressed caution at further expansion. Voter turnout was over 90%. Yonaguni is the closest inhabited Japanese island to Taiwan and became host to a SDF base in 2016, later adding surface-to-air missiles in 2024 as security concerns grew. Some locals, however, were concerned with the scale of the military presence. Shortly before the election, Japan deployed SeaGuardian drones to monitor the nearby Senkaku Islands after incursions by Chinese naval vessels. Japan’s Coast Guard later announced it would seek additional SeaGuardians from the US to boost surveillance capabilities.
- US startup Perplexity AI said Aug 26 it will begin providing a portion of its revenue to news organizations within the next few months, responding in large part to lawsuits filed by Japanese news organizations that sought injunctions to halt Perplexity’s unauthorized use of their news content. Perplexity said it was working to resolve “misunderstandings” about the issue by creating a new subscription service and distributing much of that revenue to news organizations.
- On Aug 20, USFJ marked a milestone on its way to be a Joint Force Headquarters with the arrival of the first wave of rotational personnel providing new capacity to enable command and control modernization. These first augmentees will serve six-month tours at Yokota Air Base and in Tokyo, integrating into existing command structures and support planning, logistical, and operational efforts. Also, from Aug 25 USFJ is conducting the Yama Sakura 89 command post exercise with the GSDF and Australian Army including deployment of a unit operating the Dark Eagle hypersonic missile.
“US-Japan Alliance Digest” is a bi-weekly summary of bilateral and related developments compiled by Sasakawa USA’s “US-Japan NEXT Alliance Initiative.” To receive “Alliance Digest” via email, contact dhinkley@spfusa.org.
