Eight major Japanese companies, including Toyota Motor and Sony Group, have established a joint venture named Rapidus to manufacture advanced chips domestically. Supported by the Japanese government, the newly formed entity will strengthen the competitiveness of Japan's semiconductor industry, according to Japanese media.

DENSO, NTT, KIOXIA, NEC, SoftBank and MUFG Bank are the six other companies participating in the project, the Japan Times reported Friday. The eight companies will invest a total of around 7 billion yen ($49.4 million).

Rapidus aims to develop and produce advanced sub 2-nanometer semiconductors domestically by the late 2020s. Currently, Japanese companies can only make chips with a circuit line width of about 40 nanometers.

To achieve the goal, Japan's Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura on Friday pledged to provide 70 billion yen ($494 million) in subsidies, according to Kyodo News. The country is also "cooperating with overseas research institutes and industries, especially those of the United States," he added.

(Cover photo via CFP)