Japan asked chip makers to cut production 10%.

The Japanese government has asked its nation’s semiconductor makers to cut back 10% on their chip production in the January-March period to stave off U.S. criticism that they are “dumping” chips, a spokesman for the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said. The step is aimed at raising the prices of semiconductors in the Japanese market and making it more difficult to export low-priced chips to markets outside both Japan and the United States, the spokesman said.