Taiwan’s TSMC and Japan’s Sony Group are considering jointly building a chip factory in Japan, with the government ready to pay some of the JPY 800 billion ($ 7.15 billion or Rs 53,600 crore) investment, Nikkei reported on Friday.
The Kumamoto plant in southern Japan is expected to produce semiconductors for automobiles, camera image sensors and other products that have been hit by a global chip shortage and are expected to be operational by 2024.
Denso, Japan’s top auto parts maker, is looking to take part in steps such as installing equipment at the site, the report said. Toyota Motor Group members want a stable supply of chips used in its auto parts.
Both Sony and TSMC declined to comment, while Denso was not immediately available for comment. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip maker and major Apple supplier, said in July that it was reviewing plans to set up production in Japan.
TSMC is concerned about the concentration of chipmaking power in Taiwan, which produces the majority of the world’s most advanced chips. China is not shying away from using force to bring the democratic island under its control.
Japanese officials are also concerned about the supply chain stability of its industry, with global chip shortages forcing carmakers to cut production.
Thomson Reuters 2021