Japan will provide a subsidy of up to 243 billion yen ($1.64 billion) to Kioxia Holdings Corp. and Western Digital Corp. to mass produce cutting-edge chips at plants they jointly run in central and northeastern Japan, the industry minister said Tuesday. The assistance for the facilities in Mie and Iwate prefectures that produce 3D flash memory chips, expected to be used in artificial intelligence and automated driving, comes as Japan seeks to secure a stable domestic chip production and strengthen its economic security. Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ken Saito told a press conference the…