
OSAKA -- Japanese companies are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into producing components for 5G telecommunications equipment, hoping to maintain their dominance after falling behind Chinese and South Korean competitors in finished mobile bases and smartphones.
Fifth-generation networks, with speeds 100 times those of existing 4G networks, launched in the U.S. and South Korea this year. The global market for 5G gadgets, such as surveillance cameras and drones, could top the equivalent of $241 billion in 2023, according to the Fuji Chimera Research Institute.