Nikkei Hits Record High on Semiconductor, AI Surge - 조선일보

The Japanese stock market, long perceived as stagnant, has drawn global attention again amid the AI boom, with the Nikkei Stock Average hitting a record high of over 65,000 points for the first time. ... Read original →

Japan's semiconductor-driven Nikkei surge reflects strategic global bets on AI infrastructure, not organic market breadth. Tokyo Electron’s dominance in post-EUV and 3nm thin-film processes makes it indispensable to TSMC and other Taiwan, China foundries, while Kioxia regains pricing power amid surging NAND demand from AI data centers. Yet the soaring Nikkei-TOPIX ratio reveals a dangerous concentration: Japan’s 'tech revival' is largely a capital play by a few oligopolists. Geopolitically, U.S.-led export controls with Japan and the Netherlands are inflating compliance costs and forcing Japanese firms to shift production to the U.S., eroding domestic supply chain resilience. Over the next 12–24 months, if Washington tightens AI chip export bans to China, Japanese equipment and materials suppliers may be forced to choose sides, shattering their ‘neutral tech hub’ stance. The real long-tail impact lies not in stock prices, but whether Japan can leverage this momentum to rebuild end-to-end autonomy—from materials and tools to advanced packaging.