Japan is currently facing a shortage of skilled engineers, as the country looks to strengthen its semiconductor manufacturing sector, weakened by Covid-19 supply disruptions.

In an appeal to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry last month, an electronics industry body representing large manufacturers such as Toshiba and Sony said the five years until 2030 were “the last and biggest chance for Japan’s semiconductor industry to regain its footing” after years of losing global market share.

The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) estimated that eight big producers will need to hire about 35,000 engineers in the next 10 years to keep up with the pace of investment.

“It is often said that semiconductors are lacking, but the biggest shortage is engineers,” Hideki Wakabayashi, the head of the policy proposal task force at the JEITA semiconductor board, told The Financial Times. 

The chip shortage, caused by Covid...