Micron Starts $9.3B Hiroshima HBM Fab Expansion

According to Micron Technology, the company has officially broken ground on a major expansion of its Hiroshima fabrication facility in Japan, launching a ¥1.5 trillion (US$9.3 billion) investment project to increase production of advanced memory chips, including High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), to meet rapidly growing demand driven by artificial intelligence (AI).

The expanded Hiroshima facility is expected to begin mass production and commercial shipments around the summer of 2028. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has committed up to ¥500 billion in financial support to help fund the project.

The investment forms part of Micron's broader global manufacturing strategy to expand advanced memory capacity for AI applications. In the United States, the company is constructing two leading-edge semiconductor fabrication plants in Boise, Idaho. Earlier this year, Micron also held a groundbreaking ceremony for its planned US$100 billion semiconductor manufacturing campus near Syracuse, New York, reinforcing its long-term commitment to expanding domestic DRAM production.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony attended by national and local government officials, Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra highlighted the strategic importance of the Hiroshima site to the company's AI memory roadmap.

"The first production wafers for Micron's AI-leading HBM technology were manufactured in Hiroshima," Mehrotra said. "When American ambition combines with Japanese craftsmanship, the result is not compromise—it is world-class innovation."

The Hiroshima expansion is expected to strengthen Micron's ability to develop and manufacture high-performance memory solutions with greater power efficiency and faster data transfer rates for AI infrastructure, data centers, and autonomous driving technologies.

Beyond research and development support, the Japanese government has provided Micron with approximately ¥775 billion in total subsidies to date, underscoring Japan's commitment to strengthening its domestic semiconductor ecosystem.

Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ryosei Akazawa, also attended the ceremony, describing government support for Micron—the only DRAM manufacturer currently operating production facilities in Japan—as "immeasurably valuable." He added that Japan is prepared to provide extensive support for other overseas semiconductor manufacturers interested in establishing manufacturing operations in the country.

Since 2021, Japan has committed tens of billions of dollars to revitalizing its semiconductor and AI industries, which are increasingly viewed as critical to national economic security. Last month, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi unveiled a long-term roadmap targeting ¥101.6 trillion in combined public and private investment in semiconductor and AI industries by March 2041, although specific government funding allocations have not yet been disclosed.

Kohta Nosaka, Representative Director of Micron Japan, emphasized that the Hiroshima facility's proximity to customers enables faster delivery of cutting-edge, high-performance memory products. He noted that developing next-generation memory technologies at the Hiroshima site remains central to Micron's long-term strategy.

The Hiroshima plant was originally operated by Japanese DRAM manufacturer Elpida Memory before Micron acquired the bankrupt company's assets in 2013. Today, the facility remains one of Micron's most important advanced memory manufacturing sites.

Although Japan is no longer a dominant producer of finished semiconductor devices, it continues to play a critical role in the global semiconductor supply chain through its leadership in semiconductor materials and manufacturing equipment. According to Nosaka, approximately 80% of the semiconductor materials used at the Hiroshima facility are sourced from Japanese companies, highlighting the country's continued strategic importance in advanced chip manufacturing.