www.businesskorea.co.kr, Jun. 02, 2021 –
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced on May 31 that TSMC will establish a semiconductor R&D base in Tsukuba, Japan. The ministry will provide 19 billion yen in subsidies, more than half of the project's cost of 37 billion yen.
TSMC is planning to start full-fledged R&D activities at the center beginning from next year, with the focus put on semiconductor packaging. About 20 Japanese chipmakers such as Hitachi High-Tech and Asahi Kasei are planning to collaborate with TSMC.
TSMC's advancement into Japan is seen as a response to an active request from the Japanese government, which is striving to revive the Japanese semiconductor industry. This year, the Japanese government launched the Semiconductor-Digital Industry Strategy Review Meeting to draw up policies for semiconductor and digital infrastructure. Its goal is to strengthen capabilities related to the development and production of high-tech semiconductors, which is considered a weakness of the Japanese semiconductor industry. Although Japan has global competitiveness in producing semiconductor materials, parts, equipment, and NAND flash memories, it is considered weak in producing semiconductors.