Biden & Kishida Agree On Tech Subsidy Rules

Nikkei reporting that Japanese PM Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden are set to 'agree on subsidy rules for strategic products including chips and batteries'. The headline comes just hours after the news broke that the Japanese gov't intends to provide up to JPY590bn (USD3.9bn) in subsidies to the chip venture Rapidus in order to bolster the firm founded in 2022 as a joint operation by the Japanese gov't and eight domestic firms including Toyota and Sony.

• Kishida is set to travel to the US from 8-14 April on a state visitthat includes a White House summit with Biden on 10 April.
• The effort at reaching an agreement on subsidies comes as Washington and Tokyo seek to both protect and promote their own semiconductor and battery industries via subsidies, while also working together to boost the production capacities of friendly nations in order to bolster supply chains.
• Japan Times notes that there is "friction emerging in other areas, including local protests over the resumption of V-22 Osprey flights in Japan and Biden’s opposition to Nippon Steel's planned acquisition of U.S. Steel — many question how long the momentum can be sustained [in US-Japan relations]."