The expansion comes as the US and China continue to feud over chip manufacturing and imports, with the US recently announcing plans to tighten controls on shipments of advanced AI chips and semiconductor tools to China. Meanwhile, Japan is investing in its semiconductor industry to keep up with competition in the Asia Pacific region, as it currently lags a decade behind global chipmaking leaders like TSMC.
Key takeaways:
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has opened its first factory in Japan, with plans to open a second one in the coming years. The total investment in both plants is around $20 billion.
- TSMC, the world's largest semiconductor foundry, is expanding its global reach amid rising chip competition between the U.S. and China. It is currently constructing its second plant in the U.S. and has announced a plan for its first in Europe.
- The new factory in Japan will focus on the production of automotive, industrial, and consumer-use chips. Chip production is expected to begin at the end of the year.
- Japan's semiconductor industry is reportedly a decade behind global chipmaking leaders like TSMC. In the late 1980s, Japan accounted for over half of the world's semiconductor production, but its share had fallen to 9% in 2022.