For its part, Sharp is cautiously optimistic about the move, admitting to Reuters that "the momentum for OLED panels is waning," while pouring 57.4 billion yen ($505 million) into producing them in Western Japan. That's still less than a third of the planned 200 billion yen investment that was announced by Sharp's parent Foxconn back when it acquired the company in 2016.

In the past, Sharp has talked of starting an OLED TV panel alliance with Japan Display -- which is reportedly eyeing a 2019 start for its OLED production line -- in a bid to shake up Korea's dominance. Unconcerned with falling demand, LG is investing a further 7.8 trillion Korean won ($7 billion) into the displays over the next three years. And if anyone has a head-start in the industry its Samsung, which recently unveiled an "unbreakable" OLED panel.