TSMC begins mass production at its 1st Japan fab, will break ground on 2nd fab in Q1 2025

TSMC has announced it has started mass production at its first fab in Japan, with the Japanese government pushing to secure its supply chains for critical, and essential goods -- with the semiconductor industry being a key part of that.

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The new fab in Kumamoto Prefecture produces logic chips with 12nm to 28nm process technologies, destined for carrs and image sensors, with recent news that TSMC's fab in Japan secured customers like Sony and auto parts maker Denso. TSMC has plans to build its second factory in Japan next to the first fab to produce higher-end 6nm chips, with construction aiming for March 2025, and operations beginning by the end of 2027.

Japan is wanting to secure its position in the semiconductor industry as soon as possible, with on-going tensions between the US and China (and Taiwan) set to continue to escalate, especially before President Trump is sworn in on January 20, 2025. TSMC has been offered $6.3 billion in subsidies from the Japanese goverrnrment, too.

• Read more: TSMC's first fab in Kumamoto, Japan secures initial orders from Sony and Denso
• Read more: TSMC to build its 3rd fab plant in Japan by as early as 2030
• Read more: TSMC's new fab in Japan: 24-hour work days, site is called 'Nightless Castle'
• Read more: TSMC rumored to build new CoWoS facility in Japan, only place outside Taiwan
• Read more: TSMC building second fab in Japan, 6nm and 7nm nodes coming to Japan
• Read more: Sony investing $500M into TSMC's new chip plant in Japan

Arisa Liu, veteran chip analyst and research fellow with the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research told Nikkei Asia: "The Japanese Government's swift action to allocate subsidies in attracting key chip players makes it a top destination for Taiwanese chipmakers seeking to expand overseas production".

Liu continued: "Taiwan's and Japan's chip industries enjoy a strong synergy with minimal competition, with Taiwan mastering manufacturing and Japan having expertise in chipmaking machinery and materials. This complementary nature suggests we can likely expect more collaborations in the future".