The Japanese government, on Friday March 31, announced that it plans to place restrictions on its export of 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. This follows similar efforts announced by other nations, including the USA and the Netherlands. In a news conference, the Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Yasutoshi Nishimura stated: "We are fulfilling our responsibility as a technological nation to contribute to international peace and stability." The press release makes no mention of a trade battle between the USA or China, but the implication is that METI is limiting the latter's access to Japan's most advanced chip making equipment.

Nishimura-san continues: "If our exports are not being re-appropriated for military use, we will continue exporting. We believe the impact on companies will be limited." The U.S. government has called on its allies to prevent China's access to semiconductor manufacturing technology in order to slowdown domestic technological and military advancement. Japan and the Netherlands have previously agreed, back in January of this year, to restrict exports to China of equipment that could be used to churn out sub-14 nm chips.Japan is home to several high-end makers of chip manufacturing equipment including Nikon Corp and Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL). These companies offer products ranging from tools which are used to clean silicon wafers to immersion lithography machines, and the Japanese government is seeking to begin restrictions of these types of equipment in July. The mid-summer target is to place export controls on six categories of equipment used in chip manufacturing, including cleaning, deposition, lithography and etching. Multiple Japanese equipment makers have stated that they will comply with the new set of rules, even though there is a risk of their equipment sales declining.