Taiwan TSMC Partners with Japan to Establish Development Hub in Japan

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The world's largest semiconductor foundry company, TSMC, is reportedly in final negotiations to establish its first development base in Japan, according to a report by Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 9th.

According to the report, TSMC plans to invest approximately 20 billion yen (about 210 billion KRW) to set up its first development base in Japan. The likely candidate location is Tsukuba City in Ibaraki Prefecture.

Nihon Keizai Shimbun stated that TSMC is expected to hold a board meeting soon and may announce the decision within two weeks.

The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is also expected to provide subsidies. The Japanese government, viewing semiconductors as a core strategic sector, plans to support TSMC through subsidies if it partners or forms joint ventures with Japanese companies.

The base that TSMC will establish in Japan will primarily focus on development technologies related to semiconductor "back-end processes," known as packaging work. Installation of a production line is also under consideration. Although it is not the "front-end process," which requires the most advanced technology in semiconductor manufacturing, the importance of subsequent processes has recently increased, leading global semiconductor companies to fiercely compete to acquire such technological capabilities.

Nihon Keizai Shimbun analyzed, "It seems that TSMC judged that Japan, where leading equipment and material companies gather, cannot be overlooked to accelerate advanced semiconductor development," adding, "This appears to be a strategy to maintain the current world's largest foundry company's dominance while guarding against the rise of China in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.