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According to Reuters, the Japanese government has called on equipment manufacturers to help its largest chip maker Renesas Electronics resume production. This is a recent measure taken by the Japanese government to alleviate semiconductor shortages. The semiconductor shortage has severely hit the production of automobile companies and is putting pressure on electronic equipment manufacturers.

A chip factory owned by Renesas Electronics was hit by a fire last week, and it may take several months to replace the damaged machine. The company occupies 30% of the global automotive MCU market.

Hyundai Motor, which was the least affected by the chip shortage, will stop production from April, and Renesas Electronics is one of the chip suppliers of Korean automakers.

A related person revealed that Hyundai Motor has enough chips to support the production of its models, but will reduce production of models such as Sonata that have poor sales.

Officials from the Japanese Ministry of Trade told Reuters on Wednesday that Japanese bureaucrats have contacted domestic and foreign companies and asked them to provide Renesas with parts and machinery.

Officials from the Japanese Ministry of Trade also stated that Japan hopes to ensure that advanced semiconductors can be manufactured in the future, and intends to build a test line near Tokyo with the help of TSMC. The company plans to build R&D facilities in Tokyo.