An article in the New York Times (Feb 29, 2012) describes the bankruptcy of Elpida, a Japanese DRAM chip manufacturer. Falling PC volumes, competition from South Korean manufacturers have caused prices to drop 85%. With the Japanese govt reluctant to provide additional support and focused more on the impact of last year’s tsunami, Elpida seemed to have few options.  Is this the normal process of global supply chain competition or an exception ? Should the Japanese govt intervene due to a strategic need or is this an expected outcome ? Given that Japanese DRAM component manufacturers had earlier caused the demise of US manufacturers due to their competitiveness, would you expect manufacturing to move further downstream in Japan ?