South Korean chip maker Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930) has held a ceremony marking the full opening of its semiconductor research base in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Jiji Press reported on September 9.

The facility gives Samsung a permanent research foothold in Japan, home to many of the world's leading suppliers of chipmaking materials and equipment, at a time when demand for advanced chips is climbing on the back of artificial intelligence applications. The company said it wants closer cooperation with Japanese materials and equipment manufacturers and research institutes.

Around 100 people attended the ceremony on September 8, including Samsung executives, representatives of the Japanese and South Korean governments, and officials from Samsung client companies.

Samsung Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun said he believed the new base, in Yokohama's Minato Mirai waterfront district, would become a driving force for technological exchanges between the two countries and for the joint development of their next-generation semiconductor packaging industries.

The research base was set up in 2023 to speed up development of back-end process technology, the stage at which finished chip products are assembled. Facilities and equipment were installed in stages, and the site became capable of carrying out full-scale experiments and evaluations this year.