Japanese chipmaking equipment firms preparing for arrival of Taiwan

日本晶片製造設備公司準備迎接台灣台積電的到來

Since TSMC’s plan to set up in Japan, at least 14 new projects are in the works

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Japanese semiconductor equipment manufacturers are setting up new domestic facilities in preparation for the arrival of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in Japan.

TSMC is in the process of building a new chip fab in Kumamoto prefecture, which is expected to come online in 2024. Since TSMC made its announcement of the plant in 2021, there have been at least 14 new projects to construct chip facilities in the prefecture or expand already existing factories there, Nikkei cited the Kyushu Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry as saying.

Nikkei noted that half of the announced projects involve facilities that produce chipmaking equipment.

V Technology, which designs chipmaking machinery, began operations at a new factory on Tuesday (Nov. 15) in Yokosuka. The project cost around US$14.2 million (NT$442 million).

This is V Technology’s first factory. It had previously outsourced all of its production.

Meanwhile, Kokusai Electric, which manufactures semiconductor wafer processing equipment, is spending US$172 million to construct a facility in Tonami, according to Nikkei. Kokusai Electric cannot keep up with demand despite its facilities in Japan and South Korea running at full capacity, the report said.

Its Tonami factory is expected to be completed in 2024, while the company also plans to bolster capacity at its existing plants, per Nikkei. Kokusai’s capacity is expected to be around double what it was compared to the fiscal year that ended in March 2021.

Canon, which manufactures lithography equipment for chips, is constructing a new facility in Utsunomiya that is planned to start production during the spring of 2025. The new factory will double Canon’s capacity, the report noted.

TSMC’s Kumamoto project began construction in April in the town of Kikuyo. The facility will have two production lines, one that produces 12 and 16 nanometer chips, and one that manufactures 22 and 28 nanometer silicon. The fab will have a monthly capacity of 55,000 12-inch wafers.