TSMC's Japan Wafer Plant to Begin Mass Production by Year-End

On Friday, December 13, the president of TSMC's local operations announced that the company will soon begin large-scale production at its first factory in Japan, located in Kumamoto.

TSMC has successfully launched its first production line at the Kumamoto facility, with the "same quality as its Taiwan-based factories," according to Yuichi Horita, the head of Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM).

At the factory's opening ceremony in February, TSMC confirmed that mass production would commence by the end of this year. Initially, the Kumamoto facility will supply logic semiconductors to Sony Group and Denso.

TSMC has plans to establish a second factory in Kumamoto by 2027. "We are currently preparing the site, and construction will begin in the first quarter of next year," said Horita.

The combined production capacity of both factories is expected to exceed 100,000 300mm wafers per month. As part of Japan's initiative to strengthen its semiconductor industry, the government has provided TSMC with subsidies of up to ¥1.2 trillion (approximately $8 billion).

JASM is currently recruiting over 3,400 employees, including new graduates and mid-career professionals.

In the early 2000s, Japanese semiconductor manufacturers withdrew from the competition for advanced semiconductors. Today, Japanese factories can only produce logic chips with a process node of up to 40nm. JASM plans to manufacture a range of chips at the Kumamoto plant, from traditional products to cutting-edge 6nm semiconductors.

The facility's goal is to achieve 60% local procurement by 2030. Horita stated that the current rate is already over 45%, with a target of 50% by 2026.