Because commenters outside Japan may end up buying products containing chips made in Japan. If it was built in let's say France people would be thinking less about potential invasions. Just as "obviously Japan is going to want to develop lucrative manufacturing within Japan," obviously people outside of Japan are going to want manufacturing that is not liable to be shut down or taken over in some way. Not that I think Japan and China will actually go to war any time soon myself.
>geopolitical narrative fed to them by the US state department
Just this week Japan and China have been getting into a fight over the current PM's comments over Taiwan. China has canceled some flights to Japan and complained to the UN, announcing it will defend itself from Japan.[0][1] I'm not sure what point you are trying to make here. Are you saying major disputes between China and Japan don't exist and are invented by the US state department? Or that thinking about it in this context is the result of the commenters being fed by the US state department?
The PRC and Japan is not a remotely comparable situation to the PRC and Taiwan.
The most the PRC could do is potentially sabotage production in Hokkaido, but if they can sabotage production in Hokkaido, they can sabotage it in Arizona.
I don't think China wants to go to war with Japan. I just mean to explain why people are focusing on geopolitical tensions. And the answer is that those tensions do exist, and is partly why some countries are trying to become more self-sufficient to begin with. So discussion of it is valid, that is my main point. Now once we get into those discussions, they might not be as high quality or informed as in let's say a pure technology article, but that is to be expected.
More like a new plant in Iceland, after the PM of Iceland said any attack on Greenland would be a survival-threatening situation for Iceland.
To be clear I think the comments about "geopolitical stability" or whatever term we use are not as interesting as new chip plants itself. Or at least they are a bit tired by now. I also wish Japan the best and I think they are fully capable of building such a factory and I hope they do so. But to claim that the geopolitical considerations are invented is wrong. And in fact one of the reasons the Japanese government is investing in local fabs to begin with is due to national security, as mentioned in the article:
>Securing control over chip manufacturing is being seen as a national security priority, both in Japan and elsewhere, as recent trade frictions and geopolitical tensions between China and Taiwan raise concerns around the risks of relying on foreign suppliers.
So yes, viewing the entire story through a geopolitical lens is understandable.
>geopolitical narrative fed to them by the US state department
Just this week Japan and China have been getting into a fight over the current PM's comments over Taiwan. China has canceled some flights to Japan and complained to the UN, announcing it will defend itself from Japan.[0][1] I'm not sure what point you are trying to make here. Are you saying major disputes between China and Japan don't exist and are invented by the US state department? Or that thinking about it in this context is the result of the commenters being fed by the US state department?
[0] https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3333992/china-blasts...
[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-takes-spat-with-ja...