The Fall Of The King Of LCD Panels In Japan

Japan was once the king of LCD screen production. No one would refute this, but it was only once. Although liquid crystal technology was first discovered by American laboratories, Japan was the first to commercialize it. Sharp is known as the "Father of LCD". As early as 1973, Sharp was the first to use LCD screens on calculators. In 1988, Sharp launched the world's first 14-inch LCD monitor, which made Japan almost monopolize the world LCD panel industry. From 1990 to 1994, Japan’s share in the global LCD panel industry was as high as 90%-94%, and the rest was mainly produced in the United States. Gekano-coaxial LCD screen line manufacturer!

It can be said that 1995 was the peak of Japan's LCD panel industry. In that era when Japan's LCD industry was the world's largest, no one might realize that Japan will lose the right to speak in this industry in the future.

That is, in 1995, South Korea and Taiwan of China began to vigorously develop their own LCD industry. After that, Samsung and LG of South Korea continued to surpass Japan in scale; and LCD of China Taiwan almost started independent research and development of LCD panels at the same time. Japanese companies set up factories in Taiwan to train industrial talents, and then began to compete with Japan.

In 2005, Mainland China entered the LCD industry. Last year, it won the global championship in LCD production and became the dominant player in the LCD industry.

What kind of dilemma is Japan facing today? The last local large-scale LCD panel company JDI has been losing money continuously. Now it is waiting for others to inject capital to survive. It faces competition from South Korea and China in the future, and its prospects are unclear. Once JDI is acquired, Japan will no longer be able to have a say in the display industry.

In fact, Japan has already begun to buy panels. Sony’s high-end TV LCD panels all come from overseas. South Korea, Taiwan, and the Chinese mainland have become their LCD panel suppliers. Now Sony may still be able to rely on the brand to continue to pay dividends However, the absence of a core display panel will inevitably restrict development in the future.

Japan's move towards LCD panels can actually be divided into three parts:

The first is to lose the leading position in LCD production;

The second is to lose the throne of technological leadership. Some people may think that Japan still retains advanced technologies, such as Sharp’s IGZO display technology, etc., but this kind of leadership is no longer important. First, the leadership is not much, and secondly, it cannot be large-scaled. The leading technology can only wait to be acquired;

The third is to lose the advantage of the upstream industrial chain. At present, Japan still has technologies such as evaporation equipment, but without the healthy support of the industrial chain. Once other countries succeed in research and development, this advantage will inevitably decline quickly. This process will not take too long.

Why did Japan step down from the LCD throne? What kind of enlightenment does this give us?

The first is to pay attention to the timing of technological iteration. In fact, Japan was originally the leader of CRT display and the leader of liquid crystal technology. However, in the era of alternating between the two, Japan has gained a lot of benefits from the technical advantages of CRT, so there is not so much investment in the LCD industry, so one step Slow, slow step by step.

The second is to understand that the development of an advanced industry is inseparable from the support of the region or the country. Whether it is Taiwan, South Korea, or Mainland China, they have given considerable support during the rise of the LCD industry. Taiwan also started the independent research and development of LCD panels with the Taiwan Industrial Technology Research Institute as early as the end of the 1980s, and South Korea does not lack the figure of chaebols. Samsung and LG and other companies themselves are representatives of national enterprises; the government of mainland China It also gave support to land, finances, and policies in various aspects, which led to the development of its own LCD industry.

Of course, with the above two points, it may not be able to successfully grab the advanced industries, but without the above two points, the chance is even slimmer. In fact, whether it is the LCD industry, the automobile industry, or other industries, technological innovation and state support are elements that cannot be ignored. For example, the development of electric vehicles has bypassed the overwhelming number of patents for traditional gasoline engines. In such an opportunity, latecomers have the opportunity to develop new car brands and dominate the world.

On the other hand, after Japan’s "economic miracle" of the last century, it encountered the Plaza Accord of the United States. It was first politically weak, and it was naturally unable to continue to lead innovation economically. Technical problems have never been purely technical problems. Behind it is the overall economic support, and behind the economy is the political influence. It is not scientific to simply talk about technological changes aside from these issues.