Japan semiconductor, rare-earth, and AI-chip supply chain

Japan’s chip-equipment shipments rose 49.1% year-on-year in July, and Micron continues expanding AI-memory capacity in Hiroshima. China’s provisional 99.2% duty on Japanese dichlorosilane, JOGMEC’s rare-earth partnership with Aclara in Brazil, GPU-smuggling cases, and AI-chip financing highlight supply, export-control, procurement, utilization, and repayment risks.