Japan records the first case of transnational espionage in the field of advanced technology. The capital's police have arrested a 52-year-old engineer from Fukuoka on charges of passing confidential information on a new technology developed by Toshiba to South Korea's SK Hynix Inc. The stolen data concerned NAND flash memory, a non-volatile solid-state memory which makes a significant gain in speed possible, mainly used in digital cameras, portable music players, cell phones, pen drives, palmtops and in some laptop models. NAND flash memory is at the forefront of semiconductor technology, and those with the highest levels of precision in chip manufacturing also have a significant edge over their competitors. The engineer accused of industrial espionage had participated in 2008 in research on flash memory working at the US SanDisk Corp, a chip manufacturer that operates in partnership with Toshiba. He thus had access to confidential data, classified by Toshiba as a company secret. According to the indictment, when he later left SanDisk Corp to go to work at SK Hynix, he sold the previously collected information to his new employer. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department began its investigation after receiving reports that SK Hynix had come into possession of highly confidential data owned by Toshiba. The Japanese company holds approximately 32 percent of the global NAND flash memory market, placing it second behind South Korea's Samsung, while SK Hynix occupies the fourth position with a 13 percent share. Until a few years ago, Japan was the undisputed leader in semiconductor technology, but the recent emergence of South Korea and other Asian rivals, capable of producing efficient chips at significantly lower cost, has put Japanese companies in a severe disadvantage. As profits declined, Japanese firms were forced to reduce their workforces, and South Korean and Chinese competitors took advantage of this, either hiring laid-off engineers from Japanese firms or luring those still in service with the promise of much higher compensation.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201403130062
