Cymer Inc., a San Diego-based supplier of excimer laser light sources used in semiconductor manufacturing, announced yesterday the appointment of 35-year semiconductor industry veteran Motohiko Tahara as president of Cymer Asia Pacific. Tahara joins Cymer from Ultratech K.K., where he has been CEO since 2005. He also served as president of KLA Tencor Japan from 2002 to 2005 and president of Cymer Japan from 2000 to 2002. Prior to his initial role at Cymer, Tahara served more than nine years with wholly-owned subsidiaries and joint ventures of Applied Materials. During the first 19 years of his career, he held a variety of roles with Sumitomo Corp., including managing director of sales and marketing in a joint venture with GCA Corp., and five years as managing director in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment division of Sumisho Electronics Systems.