Due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, the Japanese government is increasing investment in medical semiconductor-related industries, such as PCB, circuit board components, assembly industries, etc., which has strengthened the development capabilities of medical PCBA. This reform is to reduce the dependence on importing medical electronics from developed countries such as Europe and the United States. In response to this call, the central government released the "New Medical PCBA Policy" in May 2022. The policy accelerates the growth of Japan's PCBA industry through research and innovation of advanced manufacturing and assembly technologies to promote high value-added industrial chains. Through this policy, Japan may become the second largest PCBA industrial country after China.
According to the "New Medical PCBA Policy", the Japanese government believes that the PCBA industry will achieve an economic value target of 1 trillion in 2026 with the support of the government. According to reports, with the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, the global demand for the medical industry is expanding. So far, the annual output value of Japan's medical PCB has reached 2 billion US dollars. Medical PCB is a more difficult circuit board to manufacture. With the "New Medical PCBA Policy", the overall PCB manufacturing industry in Japan will be greatly improved.
Goals of the medical PCBA industry in 2023
- Generate $2 billion in electronics manufacturing and exports across the PCBA value chain, creating foreign exchange opportunities through import substitution and export promotion;
- The medical electronics industry will add 50,000 jobs in 2028;
- Promoting financial and non-financial industries through the development of medical PCB manufacturing;
- Establish cooperation with more PCBA manufacturers to form an economy that can quickly serve and medical electronics;
- Establish human resources foundation for the medical industry;
- Encourage R&D and innovation activities in the medical electronics industry.
More Qualified Medical Electronics Manufacturers
In order to produce more qualified medical electronic products, the Japanese government has set up more "new units" so that qualified manufacturers can be screened out, and these manufacturers must meet the following conditions:
- Manufacture of electronic products such as telecommunication systems/mobile phones/IT systems and hardware/home appliances/medical electronics/aviation electronics/industrial electronics/defense and strategic electronics/automotive electronics/information and broadcasting equipment.
- Intermediate parts such as printed circuit boards/semiconductors/semiconductor parts/integrated circuits (ICs)/components/parts.
- Electronic Contract Manufacturing Services (EMS).
- Other electronics industries/products covered by the National Electronics Policy (NPE) or other policies issued by the Japanese government from time to time.
Funding Support for Medical Electronics
- A. Financial support for venue, equipment, technology, etc.
The manufacturing of medical electronics needs to be designed into many aspects, such as circuit design, PCB manufacturing, assembly, testing, packaging and processing. For high-precision medical PCBs, more professional equipment and technology are required to prevent problems such as EMI. The government provides PCBA manufacturers with a lot of advanced equipment such as, 10-drive wave soldering, automatic SMT machines, laser scanners, etc.
Associated utilities include critical equipment needed in the work area, such as private power generation, wastewater treatment facilities, clean rooms, air curtains, air conditioning and air quality control systems, compressed air, water and power supply, and control systems.
Related utilities also include manufacturing-related IT and International Industrial Manufacturing Technology (ITES) infrastructure such as servers, software, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions.
- B. Construction expenditure
Expenditures incurred by qualified units for the construction of factories necessary for the production of goods or the provision of labor services. However, it does not include the cost of purchasing land and buildings.