2024-02-25 18:14:00
“The beginning of the semiconductor manufacturing renaissance”
Clean room, equivalent to the size of Tokyo Dome
Japanese companies such as Sony and Denso also participated.
Checking China… Strengthening the global supply chain
▲ The first plant in Kumamoto, Japan, of TSMC, the world’s No. 1 foundry (consignment manufacturing) company, which held an opening ceremony on the 24th and virtually began operation. Provided by TSMC Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s No. 1 foundry (semiconductor consignment production) company, held an opening ceremony for its first Japanese factory in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu Island, southern Japan, on the 24th. Japan and Taiwan, which are keeping China in check through the Kumamoto No. 1 factory, appear to be coming closer together.
The opening ceremony was attended by TSMC founder Zhang Zhongmou (Maurice Chang), TSMC Chairman Liu Dein, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ken Saito, Kumamoto Governor Ikuo Kabashima, Sony Group Chairman Kenichiro Yoshida, and Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda.
Participants emphasized with one voice that TSMC Kumamoto Plant 1 would be an opportunity to revive the Japanese semiconductor industry. In his greeting, Founder Jang said, “I am deeply moved that the construction of the factory has been realized in Japan,” and added, “I expect that it will lead to strengthening the supply of semiconductors not only in Japan but also around the world, and at the same time, it will be the beginning of a semiconductor manufacturing renaissance.”
TSMC Kumamoto Plant 1 was built on a site of approximately 210,000 m2 in the rural village of Kikuyo-machi, and the clean room area required for the semiconductor manufacturing process is 45,000 m2, which is equivalent to the area of Tokyo Dome, a professional baseball stadium in Japan. The factory will be operated by JASM, which stands for ‘Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing.’ Japanese companies such as Sony and Denso, which are subsidiaries of TSMC, also participated. JASM is expected to hire 1,700 people locally, including regarding 400 expatriates from Taiwan and regarding 200 from Sony Group. We plan to begin mass production of semiconductors in the fourth quarter of this year and produce regarding 55,000 products per month using a 12-28 nanometer (nm, 1 billionth of a meter) process. The narrower the circuit width, the more advanced it is, but given that the latest semiconductors that can be mass-produced in the Japanese semiconductor industry are only 40 nanometers, TSMC Kumamoto Plant 1 is evaluated to play a big role in securing semiconductor technology that does not exist in Japan.
Above all, Japan and Taiwan have a closer relationship with China than before. Taiwan has been using semiconductors, a strategic material, for its own security under the name ‘Silicon Shield’. Founder Jang, who is 92 years old this year, was someone that the late Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee tried to scout, and this is also why he values collaboration with Japan so much that he attended the opening ceremony of Kumamoto Factory 1 in person. The Nippon Keizai Shimbun said, “If Japan, focusing on the Kumamoto plant, becomes a supply base for mature products (semiconductors that are not cutting-edge but can be used widely) following Taiwan and China, the stability of the supply chain can be increased in the form of keeping China in check.” expected.
TSMC decided to continue investing in Japan, including building a second plant near the first plant. In response, the Japanese government plans to provide 476 billion yen (4.2126 trillion won) in support to Factory 1 and 732 billion yen to Factory 2. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a video message that day, “The government will continue to quickly implement support measures such as budget, tax system, and regulatory reform.”
Correspondent Kim Jin-ah, Tokyo
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