TOKYO – Apple Inc said on Tuesday it had invested more than $100 billion in its Japanese supply network over the last five years, as its chief executive officer Tim Cook visited the epicenter of the country’s semiconductor industry.
Cook said in a Monday tweet he visited Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan, home to factories of many semiconductor and leading technology firms, including one under construction by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co .In a statement, Apple said it had boosted its spending on suppliers in Japan by more than 30 percent since 2019, with a network spanning nearly 1,000 companies, from multi-nationals to family-run businesses.
It called Sony Group Corp one of its biggest suppliers in Japan for providing camera sensors for iPhone products, while also mentioning medium- and small enterprises including textile firm Inoue Ribbon Industry Co and mold manufacturer Shincron Co as partners.