Japan Display
{{short description|Japanese display manufacturer}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Japan Display Inc.
株式会社ジャパンディスプレイ
| logo = Japan Display logo.svg
| logo_size = 190px
| traded_as = {{TYO|6740}}
| predecessor = {{Unbulleted list|Sony Mobile Display|Toshiba Mobile Display|Hitachi Displays}}
| foundation = {{Start date and age|2012|04|01}}
| location = Landic Shinbashi Building 2, 3-7-1, Nishi-shinbashi, Minato, Tokyo, 105-0003, Japan
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = Scott Callon (Chairman and CEO){{Citation|url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20201210/p2g/00m/0bu/114000c|title=Japan Display President Minoru Kikuoka to step down}}
| industry = Electronics
| products = Development, production and sale of small- and medium-sized displays devices and related products
| revenue = {{loss}} US$6.76 billion (FY 2018)
(¥ 717.52 billion)
| net_income = {{loss}} US$2.33 billion (FY 2018)
(¥ 247.24 billion)
| num_employees = 6,660 (as of March 31, 2022)
| subsid =
| owner = Ichigo Trust (44.26%)
| homepage = [http://www.j-display.com/english/index.html Official website]
| footnotes = {{cite web |url=https://www.j-display.com/english/company/outline.html |title=Company Outline |publisher=Japan Display |access-date=January 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108045847/https://www.j-display.com/english/company/outline.html |archive-date=January 8, 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.j-display.com/english/ir/library/pdf/financialreport2018.pdf|title=Consolidated Financial Results for Fiscal Year 2018|publisher=Japan Display|access-date=January 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107233017/https://www.j-display.com/english/ir/library/pdf/financialreport2018.pdf|archive-date=January 7, 2019|url-status=live}}
}}
{{nihongo|Japan Display Inc.|株式会社ジャパンディスプレイ|Kabushiki-gaisha Japan Disupurei}}, commonly called by its abbreviated name, JDI, is the Japanese display technology joint venture formed by the merger of the small and medium-sized liquid crystal display businesses of Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi.
As of March 2014, JDI was one of the major display suppliers to Apple's iPhone.{{cite news|author1=Reiji Murai|author2=Takashi Umekawa|date=March 19, 2014|title=News of IPO by JDI|publisher=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-display-listing-idUSBREA2I00W20140319?type=companyNews|url-status=live|access-date=September 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924044938/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/19/us-japan-display-listing-idUSBREA2I00W20140319?type=companyNews|archive-date=September 24, 2014}} Also, it was a key supplier to Nintendo Switch, along with Sharp Corporation, until 2017.{{Cite web|url=https://xtech.nikkei.com/dm/atcl/feature/15/122200045/010400368/?ST=SP&n_cid=nbptec_twbn_sp_t|title=Nintendo Switchの好況に沸くゲーム機向け液晶パネル|date=9 January 2018 }}
As of 2020, JDI has research and production of three types of displays ongoing under its operation: LCD, OLED, and microLED.{{Cite web|title=Technology : JDI's Latest Display Technology {{!}} Japan Display Inc.|url=https://www.j-display.com/english/technology/jdinewtech.html|access-date=2020-11-22|website=www.j-display.com}}{{Cite web|title=Japan Display starts to produce OLED displays, probably for Apple's watch {{!}} OLED-Info|url=https://www.oled-info.com/japan-display-starts-produce-oled-displays-probably-apples-watch|access-date=2020-11-22|website=www.oled-info.com}}
History
On August 31, 2011, Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi agreed to a merger of their respective small-to-medium-sized LCD businesses, supported by an investment of two hundred billion yen from INCJ. Soon after, INCJ and Panasonic also began talks on the acquisition of one of Panasonic's factories.{{cite web|date=November 15, 2011|title=Panasonic to Sell TV Panel Factory to New Japan Display Venture|url=http://www.cio.com/article/694052/Panasonic_to_Sell_TV_Panel_Factory_to_New_Japan_Display_Venture|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110133957/http://www.cio.com/article/694052/Panasonic_to_Sell_TV_Panel_Factory_to_New_Japan_Display_Venture|archive-date=January 10, 2014|access-date=March 23, 2014|publisher=CIO}}
JDI has started its operation on April 1, 2012, after it had finalized the agreement between the stakeholders on November 15, 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.dailytech.com/Sony+Hitachi+and+Toshiba+Agree+to+Japan+Display+Joint+Venture/article23287.htm#sthash.n505fv5T.dpuf |title=Sony, Hitachi, and Toshiba Agree to "Japan Display" Joint Venture |publisher=DailyTech |date=November 15, 2011 |access-date=March 23, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117225459/http://www.dailytech.com/Sony+Hitachi+and+Toshiba+Agree+to+Japan+Display+Joint+Venture/article23287.htm#sthash.n505fv5T.dpuf |archive-date=November 17, 2011 |url-status=dead }}
In April 2013, Japan Display West, Japan Display Central, and Japan Display East were merged. In October, Taiwan Display Inc. was established.
On March 19, 2014, the company was listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.{{cite news|date=March 19, 2014|title=Japan Display Inc. Listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange|publisher=Japan Display|url=http://www.j-display.com/english/news/2014/20140319.html|url-status=live|access-date=March 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416012556/http://www.j-display.com/english/news/2014/20140319.html|archive-date=April 16, 2014}}{{cite news|author=Shinichiro Unozawa|date=March 19, 2014|title=Japan Display IPO 1st fruit of INCJ's investment|publisher=Nikkei Inc.|url=http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Japan-Display-debuts-on-TSE-as-1st-fruit-of-INCJs-investment|url-status=live|access-date=September 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911150600/http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Japan-Display-debuts-on-TSE-as-1st-fruit-of-INCJs-investment|archive-date=September 11, 2014}}
JDI had accumulated consecutive losses since its IPO, a restructuring plan was announced in 2017, including closing down a production line in Japan and layoffs of approximately a third of its workforce.
A newly created entity INCJ, Ltd. had become the largest shareholder of JDI with 25,29 % of total shares since September 21, 2018 as a result of a corporate split of the old INCJ.[https://ssl4.eir-parts.net/doc/6740/tdnet/1630872/00.pdf Notice Concerning a Change in the Largest Major Shareholder.] Filing, JDI, 21 September 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2019
From 2019 onwards, the company began to actively seek further investments as its financial difficulties worsened. It went on to sign a memorandum of understanding to sell 49.82% of the company to Suwa Investment Holdings LLC at a sale price of US$715 million. Suwa was the name of a group of investors, which included the Chinese Silk Road Fund and Harvest Tech Investment Management, Taiwan's TPK Holdings, and Fubon Financial Holdings.{{Cite web|title=Japan Display Secures ~$0.92 Billion Bailout from Japan's Ichigo|url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/15464/japan-display-secures-bailout-from-japans-ichigo|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329094552/https://www.anandtech.com/show/15464/japan-display-secures-bailout-from-japans-ichigo|archive-date=2020-03-29|access-date=2020-05-05}}
On June 12, 2019, JDI disclosed that major changes are to be implemented due to sluggish sales in the Mobile Business Division. It announced one plant would be closed and another has suspended operation. A major reduction of the workforce was also planned.[https://ssl4.eir-parts.net/doc/6740/tdnet/1720855/00.pdf Structural Reforms.] Notice by JDC. June 12, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019 On June 27, $100 million investment was announced by Apple, boosting the stock price of JDI by 32 percent at the time.{{Cite news|date=2019-06-27|title=Japan Display to receive $100 million investment from Apple, says...|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-display-funding-apple-idUKKCN1TS0CH|url-status=dead|access-date=2019-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627075135/https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-display-funding-apple-idUKKCN1TS0CH|archive-date=2019-06-27}}
In October 2019, JDI revealed it has started producing OLED displays for Apple's smartwatch.
On December 26, it officially entered talks to sell its plant in Hakusan, Ishikawa to Sharp Corporation for 80 to 90 billion yen which is about US$800 million, with a plan to avail the profit to the repayment of the loan made by Apple whose investment partially funded the construction of the plant.{{Cite web|title=Apple supplier Japan Display agrees to $800m bailout|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Apple-supplier-Japan-Display-agrees-to-800m-bailout|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325092341/https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Apple-supplier-Japan-Display-agrees-to-800m-bailout|archive-date=2020-03-25|access-date=2020-04-07}} The Hakusan plant was built in 2015 and began operations in 2016 at a cost of US$1.5 billion, and has been partly idle since June 2019, due to Apple's use of OLED displays.{{Cite web|title=Apple said to buy $200m in Japan Display plant assets|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-deals/Apple-said-to-buy-200m-in-Japan-Display-plant-assets|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503134806/https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-deals/Apple-said-to-buy-200m-in-Japan-Display-plant-assets|archive-date=2020-05-03|access-date=2020-05-05}}{{Cite news|title=Japan Display in talks to sell key smartphone screen plant to Apple, Sharp: Nikkei|newspaper=Reuters|date=27 December 2019|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-display-funding/japan-display-in-talks-to-sell-key-smartphone-screen-plant-to-apple-sharp-nikkei-idUSKBN1YU1AI|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423202738/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-display-funding/japan-display-in-talks-to-sell-key-smartphone-screen-plant-to-apple-sharp-nikkei-idUSKBN1YU1AI|archive-date=2020-04-23|access-date=2020-05-05}}{{Cite web|title=Japan Display OLED iPhone screens could still be two plus years away|date=2 September 2019|url=https://9to5mac.com/2019/09/02/japan-display-oled-iphone/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404190136/https://9to5mac.com/2019/09/02/japan-display-oled-iphone/|archive-date=2020-04-04|access-date=2020-05-05}}{{Cite web|title=Japan Display considers selling key plant to Apple and Sharp | the Japan Times|date=27 December 2019 |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/12/27/business/japan-display-considers-selling-key-plant-apple-sharp/#.XrENAaj0ncc|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227111133/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/12/27/business/japan-display-considers-selling-key-plant-apple-sharp/#.XrENAaj0ncc|archive-date=2019-12-27|access-date=2020-05-05}}{{Cite web|title=Japan Display in talks with Apple and Sharp to sell factory|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-deals/Japan-Display-in-talks-with-Apple-and-Sharp-to-sell-factory|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329034521/https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-deals/Japan-Display-in-talks-with-Apple-and-Sharp-to-sell-factory|archive-date=2020-03-29|access-date=2020-05-05}}
Due to the financial trouble caused by its late decision to manufacture OLED displays and the loan from Apple, the company's OLED affiliate, JOLED, has not yet been able to compete with other manufacturers, whilst more than half of JDI's revenue still came from the shrinking IPS LCD panel sales to Apple.
In February 2020, Ichigo Asset management, a multinational private investment fund, gained control of JDI in exchange for US$715 million of investment. In turn, the memorandum signed with Suwa a year before was terminated. INCJ and other existing shareholders retained stakes in the company.
In April 2020, in accordance with the talks held in December, JDI began to sell LCD production equipment valued at US$200 million to Apple, with plans to sell the real estate of the Hakusan plant to Sharp. This will allow JDI to focus on its remaining product demand and factories. The sales have been completed by October.
In July 2020, the CEO of JDI revealed the company's plan to start mass production of OLED display panels for smartphones "as early as 2022" with a novel manufacturing technology, adding that it would require new funding.{{Cite news|title=Apple Supplier JDI Surges as CEO Reveals Mobile OLED Talks|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-16/apple-watch-supplier-in-talks-on-smartphone-oled-investment|access-date=2020-07-31|website=Bloomberg|date=16 July 2020 }}
Technology
JDI has produced active-matrix displays driven by TFTs based on a low-temperature polycrystalline-silicon ("LTPS") process instead of amorphous silicon, allowing higher resolutions of their displays.{{Cite web |url=http://www.j-display.com/english/technology/jdilcd/highreso.html |title=LTPS explained |access-date=2014-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328225205/http://www.j-display.com/english/technology/jdilcd/highreso.html |archive-date=2014-03-28 |url-status=live }} The In-Plane-Switching technology developed by Hitachi also has been used. The company has developed an improvement for darker black pixels (true-black appearance), called "IPS-NEO", which reduces the light shining through from the backlighting.{{Cite web |url=http://www.j-display.com/english/technology/jdilcd/pictureq.html |title=IPS-NEO explained |access-date=2014-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328230635/http://www.j-display.com/english/technology/jdilcd/pictureq.html |archive-date=2014-03-28 |url-status=live }}
Its "Pixel Eyes" technology incorporates the touch function into the LCD panel itself; combined with the company's transparent display technology, a transparent fingerprint reader that could be featured in smartphones was announced in 2018.{{Cite web |url=http://www.j-display.com/english/technology/jdilcd/thin_light.html |title=Pixel Eyes explained |access-date=2014-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328230957/http://www.j-display.com/english/technology/jdilcd/thin_light.html |archive-date=March 28, 2014 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|date=January 23, 2018|title=JDI creates transparent fingerprint reader|url=https://www.gsmarena.com/jdi_creates_transparent_fingerprint_reader-news-29276.php|access-date=November 22, 2020|website=GSMArena.com|language=en-US}}
For reflective LCDs without backlighting, JDI has developed an addressing technique using a thin-film memory device SRAM in addition to the conventional TFT for each pixel, so that a still image can be stored consuming a low amount of energy.{{Cite web |url=http://www.j-display.com/english/technology/jdinew/ultralowp.html |title=Combination of SRAM + TFT explained |access-date=March 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328225731/http://www.j-display.com/english/technology/jdinew/ultralowp.html |archive-date=March 28, 2014 |url-status=live }}
In November 2019, JDI unveiled a prototype of a 12.3-inch transparent LCD that has a transmittance rate of as high as 87 percent.{{Cite web|title=Japan Display to Showcase 12.3-inch Transparent LCD Display at FINTECH JAPAN 2019 {{!}} CdrInfo.com|url=https://www.cdrinfo.com/d7/content/japan-display-showcase-123-inch-transparent-lcd-display-fintech-japan-2019|access-date=November 22, 2020|website=www.cdrinfo.com}}
In December 2019, it announced that it has developed a 1.6-inch microLED display module with a pixel density of 265 ppi and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, which can be assembled to form a large screen.{{Cite web|last=Shilov|first=Anton|title=Japan Display Develops 1.6-Inch Micro LED Display Module: 265 PPI & 3,000 Nits|url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/15174/japan-display-develops-16inch-micro-led-display-module-265-ppi-3000-nits|access-date=November 22, 2020|website=www.anandtech.com}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|www.j-display.com/english/index.html|Japan Display Inc. official website}} {{in lang|en}}
- {{Official website|www.tdi.j-display.com/tw/|JDI Group - Taiwan Display Inc. official website}} {{in lang|zh}}
{{Electronics industry in Japan}}
{{Hitachi}}
{{Toshiba}}
{{Sony}}
Category:Electronics companies of Japan
Category:Display technology companies
Category:Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo
Category:Electronics companies established in 2012
Category:Japanese companies established in 2012