Rapidus: a request, not an appropriation
Japan's economy, trade and industry minister said the ministry is requesting government industrial investment in Rapidus over the three years from 2027 to 2029. A reporter put the total at ¥400bn; the minister said that was the figure he believed METI had presented, adding "I think" when recalling it. He was speaking at a post-cabinet press conference on 20 October 2026.
The amount was explained the day before, on 19 October, to the fiscal investment and loan subcommittee of the Finance Ministry's Fiscal System Council, where investment in Rapidus through IPA was discussed. The minister described it as a budget request still under negotiation. METI will keep coordinating with the finance authorities, he said, taking into account points raised at the subcommittee.
The stated purpose is to draw in private-sector lending. The minister called the Rapidus project a national undertaking that must succeed in the national interest, and said public money is being committed on that basis.
The questioner also raised in-kind contributions of production equipment planned for fiscal 2027, asked why additional investment is needed, and asked how long equity support would run after the NEDO-commissioned project ends. The minister's answer, as recorded, gives no end date for government support.
EU electric vehicles: no comment on the bill, firm on the ask
The question on EVs carried its own premise: that the French and German governments had agreed that the EU's proposed preferences for European-made electric vehicles should exclude Japanese-made ones, with deliberations continuing in the European Parliament and among member states. The minister said he was aware of the reports but understood the matter to be a bill under deliberation among EU members, and declined to comment on it.
He said the government would convey its concerns to the EU at all levels and press it to treat Japanese products as equivalent to EU-made ones, so that Japanese companies are not disadvantaged.
Asked about a hypothetical final decision excluding Japanese-made vehicles, he said the impact could not be called small, since Europe is an important market for Japan's auto industry. He said Japan has asked the EU for explanations and is pressing for equivalent treatment. The EU, he said, always replies that it does not intend to exclude Japan, but he told reporters that its stated aim and chosen means do not fit together. Tokyo will keep lobbying through every channel and respond once a conclusion is reached.
The minister's remarks do not confirm that the EU or any member state has adopted an exclusion. They record Japan's negotiating position while the bill is still being debated.