In a bid to strengthen infrastructure construction in the country, the Japanese government has approved TSMC’s plan to build a new chip factory in the country and also offers about 476 billion yen subsidies to the firm.
The new chips plant will be built in Kumamoto, Japan by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd in collaboration with Sony Group and Denso Corporation for a total sum of $7 billion.
According to Taiwan’s investment commission of the ministry of economic affairs, the plant aims at easing and providing the needed chips for Japanese customers. The same was approved by a relevant law to encourage the construction of semiconductor factories in Japan.
Over the years, reports have revealed that Japan’s semiconductor production is underperforming, and the government intends to boost infrastructure construction through subsidies and other measures. Subsidies from the Japanese government to TSMC and other firms are the first projects mandated by relevant laws and will be released gradually by the end of 2024.
Meanwhile, TSMC’s chip factory began construction earlier this year and is slated to be completed in September 2023, with products entering the market in December 2024.
According to reports, this plant will first supply 22nm and 28nm production techniques to make semiconductor chips for select connected industries. It will later add 12nm and 16nm chip foundry services. Similarly, the factory is projected to employ more than 1,700 individuals, with around 320 dispatched from TSMC and approximately 200 dispatched from Sony Group.
Speaking about the technology that will be used at the new chip plant in Japan, the firm pointed out that:
The technology that will be used in TSMC’s new plant in Japan is lagging what has been applied in Taiwan for at least one generation or more. There should be no doubts about high-end technology outflow.
For years, TSMC has risen to the forefront of attempts to overcome a chip shortage that has shut down some vehicle manufacturing lines and harmed consumer electronics makers worldwide. The firm is a major Apple supplier, producing some of the world’s most advanced semiconductors. Follow TechGenyz for more latest tech news.
