Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.

Rapidus, which aims to mass-produce cutting-edge semiconductors, announced on the 5th that it will launch a "Design Solution Associate" with 17 design-related companies from Japan, the United States, India, Malaysia and elsewhere. The aim is to provide Rapidus customers with each company's design resources and specialized expertise, strengthening the support framework from semiconductor design through manufacturing. Rapidus aims to begin mass production of cutting-edge semiconductors with a circuit line width of 2 nanometers in the second half of next year. In cutting-edge semiconductors, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the largest contract chipmaker, is ahead, and the latecomer Rapidus hopes to support customers from the design stage to lead to earlier delivery and create a counterweight. President Atsuyoshi Koike emphasized in an interview with Reuters in August that "speed is everything. Shortening the manufacturing period will be the biggest attraction for customers." Participants include Dai Nippon Printing, Toshiba Information Systems under Toshiba, major US semiconductor design firm Synopsys, and Indian IT services giant Infosys.

Kodansha is entering the Indian manga publishing market with popular titles such as Attack on Titan and Blue Lock. This month, it will set up a joint venture in Delhi with Dai Nippon Printing and others, planning to publish around 200 English and Hindi editions per year starting this autumn, aiming for annual sales in the tens of billions of yen. In India, English editions imported via the United States currently cost around 1,800 yen per volume, are scarce, and piracy is rampant. By offering official editions at lower prices through a local subsidiary, Kodansha aims to boost distribution and eliminate pirated copies. In India's 1.4 billion-strong market, where economic growth continues, Japanese content has been gaining popularity since the pandemic, and the company hopes to expand its fan base amid a growing Generation Z and affluent class. The Japan External Trade Organization's New Delhi office notes that Kodansha's entry will not only boost content exports but also help broaden the base of local creative talent.