Tokyo is offering financial support to Rapidus to help it secure customers, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa told reporters at a Rapidus event in Hokkaido on Saturday. The fledgling company aims to make cutting-edge 2-nanometer chips by 2027, a schedule Akazawa reaffirmed, and help Japan lower its reliance on industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Policymakers see Rapidus’ success and technological independence in AI, robotics and quantum computing as critical to the country’s security.