Taiwan's AI-fueled export boom has lifted the island past Japan on shipments, per-person income and household financial wealth, according to figures cited on October 6 by Hsieh Chin-ho (謝金河), chairman of Wealth Magazine. The claim lands as Taiwan's benchmark Taiex stock index sits at a record just shy of 50,000.
Hsieh, a veteran financial commentator, laid out the comparison in a Facebook post. He argued that AI is helping Taiwanese shed a long-held sense of standing a step below Japan, drawing on a Nikkei analysis and other published data.
Taiwan Out-Exports Japan Despite One-Fifth the Population
Nikkei's analysis, as Hsieh cited it, found that Taiwan exported $416.6 billion worth of goods in the first half of 2026, edging out Japan's $384.4 billion by $32.2 billion. The Japanese newspaper stressed that Taiwan has about 23 million people while Japan has roughly 123 million.
The contest is not a two-way race. The same analysis, as reported by South Korean media, showed that South Korea also overtook Japan for the first time, with $496.3 billion in exports, more than Taiwan's total. Exports from both economies grew by more than 50% from a year earlier, while Japan's rose about 10%, on a surge in AI-related chip demand.
Hsieh expects Taiwan's lead over Japan to widen. The island is due to publish September trade data within days, and he predicts the result will top August's. Spread across their populations, he calculated first-half exports of about $18,000 per person in Taiwan, against roughly $3,100 in Japan.
Per-Person Income Pulls Further Ahead of Japan and South Korea
The income figures Hsieh cited put Taiwan at $39,489 per person in 2025, ahead of South Korea at $36,227 and Japan at $34,713. For 2026, his preliminary estimates are $42,103 for Taiwan, $37,416 for South Korea and $35,703 for Japan. If the second half grows at the pace of the first, Hsieh said, Taiwan's figure would reach $45,332.
That outlook rests on exceptional growth. Taiwan's Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics raised its 2026 growth forecast to 11.05% on August 14, the fastest pace in 39 years.
Economists caution that the gains are uneven. Information and communications technology manufacturing accounted for 22% of Taiwan's gross domestic product in 2024 but employed only about 10% of the workforce, CommonWealth Magazine has reported.
Allianz Ranks Taiwan Fifth in Household Financial Wealth
Allianz Research's Global Wealth Report, published on September 29, ranked Taiwan fifth among nearly 60 economies for net financial assets per person, at about €164,470 ($186,000). Only the United States, Switzerland, Denmark and Singapore placed higher. Japan came in 14th at €89,420, and South Korea 20th at €43,090.
Hsieh added that even Japanese media have said they underestimated the power of AI.
TSMC's 2nm Lead Underpins the Gap With Japan
Hsieh credited Taiwan's advantage in advanced chipmaking. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) began volume production of 2-nanometer chips in 2025, while Japan's government-backed Rapidus is not due to reach that stage until 2027. Japan, he said, still depends on TSMC's Kumamoto plant for semiconductor production.
Japan remains strong in chipmaking equipment, specialty chemicals and materials. Taiwan, Hsieh wrote, turns Japan's equipment and materials into gold.
Hsieh Sees Taiwan Shedding Its Deference to Japan
Hsieh pointed to the Treaty of Shimonoseki of 1895, under which Qing Dynasty China ceded Taiwan and the Penghu islands to Japan, which ruled the island until 1945. For more than a century, he wrote, Taiwanese have regarded Japan with a mix of awe and a feeling of inferiority, and the island's recent economic results are gradually restoring public confidence.
That confidence is visible in the stock market. The Taiex rose 1,236.30 points, or 2.55%, on October 5 to close at a record 49,712.04, as investors bought AI-related shares after a weak U.S. jobs report eased expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike, Focus Taiwan reported. TSMC alone contributed roughly 600 points, closing at NT$2,575.
