ABSTRACT
Japan became a major player in the global electronics, electrical equipment, and components industries during the expansion of its consumer electronics, automotive, telecommunications, computer, and office automation equipment industries during the 1980s. With the traditional market for dynamic random access memory (DRAMs) stagnating after the 1996 price crash, Japanese semiconductor makers moved into the system large scale integration (LSI) arena, considered “the New Industrial Revolution” in electronics. Manufacturers were planning to build a mixed production system in which system LSIs and DRAMs could be manufactured on the same production line. The consolidated earnings of Japan’s electronics leaders declined in 1997 and were relatively flat for 1998, though profitability improved in 1998. In Japan, unlike the US, most companies that are heavily invested in electronics product markets are also vertically integrated and heavily invested in upstream semiconductor technologies. Today, cellular phones are driving Japan’s miniaturization efforts.
