Samsung Electronics will open a strategic R&D center early next month in Fukuoka (the largest city in Kyushu), the semiconductor Mecca of Japan. Kyushu, home to one of Japan's state-of-the-art industrial complexes, shows off a stellar lineup of R&D talent of world-renowned semiconductor and auto companies. Samsung Electronics' move to locate one of its R&D centers in the region is interpreted as its endeavor to keep a firm hand on leading core technologies, ranging from semiconductors to the next-generation green industry.
According to the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the world's top maker of memory chips will set up a cutting-edge semiconductor R&D center early next month in Tenjin, the downtown area of Fukuoka City. The soon-to-be-opened R&D center will be the semiconductor giant's fourth R&D center in Japan, and is expected to take on approximately 50 employees.
Japan has been closely following Samsung Electronics' attempt to open its fourth R&D center in the region, because of the region's strategic importance to the Japanese high-tech industry. Kyushu, nicknamed "Silicon Island", is densely inhabited by a plethora of prominent semiconductor makers, such as NEC, Toshiba, Fujitsu, and Mitsubishi. The region alone accounts for nearly 10 % (1 trillion yen or about KRW 12.8 trillion) of the total global production of semiconductors. This is why Kyushu has such a high concentration of core R&D talent.
Japanese media reported that Samsung Electronics' fourth R&D center in Fukuoka would focus on developing next-generation semiconductor technologies for the time being, and move on to obtaining green technologies - such as eco-friendly vehicles and solar cells - which are currently building up in Kyushu. While Japanese economic circles cast wary eyes on Samsung Electronics' move, some say that Japan needs to proactively join forces with rivals in order to prevent industrial decampment, which could result from the ongoing economic recession.
