According to Japanese media reports, last friday on Dec.27th, 2024, Kumamoto Prefecture Governor Takeshi Kimura stated at a regular press conference that TSMC’s Kumamoto factory’s operational subsidiary, JASM, informed that “the Kumamoto factory has started mass production this month.”
Kimura pointed out that there had been a prior request for JASM to notify the government when production began in order to monitor the factory’s wastewater. JASM informed the Kumamoto Prefectural Government on December 23 that its wafer fab had started mass production, although the specific date of mass production was not disclosed.
Kimura mentioned that after the Kumamoto factory began mass production, “wastewater monitoring will begin in mid-January 2025, and the results will be shared with the residents of the prefecture.”
In response to related reports, TSMC also commented on the 27th, saying, “(The Kumamoto wafer fab) has started mass production as scheduled in December.”
According to available information, TSMC’s first Kumamoto wafer fab held its opening ceremony on February 24 this year, and it was announced that mass production would start by the end of the year. The fab will initially supply logic chips to Sony and Denso, with process technologies of 22/28nm and 12/16nm, and a monthly capacity of 55,000 wafers. The second Kumamoto fab is planned to begin mass production by the end of 2027, with process technologies extending to 6/7nm. Construction is expected to start in the first quarter of next year, and the combined monthly capacity of both fabs (Kumamoto 1 and 2) is estimated to exceed 100,000 wafers.
Japan’s semiconductor industry has gradually fallen behind global trends since the early 2000s. Currently, logic chip technology is still at the 40nm process, but with the recent surge in electric vehicles and AI, global semiconductor competition has intensified. The Japanese government is determined to revitalize its semiconductor manufacturing strength by providing a subsidy of 1.2 trillion yen (about 78 billion USD) to TSMC for setting up a factory in Japan.
To ensure the smooth mass production of the two Kumamoto fabs, JASM has employed more than 3,400 local workers and plans to produce different types of products, including traditional chips and advanced 6nm chips. JASM also aims to strengthen the local semiconductor supply chain, with a target of having 60% of components sourced locally by 2030. Yuichi Kureta stated that this proportion has already exceeded 45%, with expectations to reach 50% by 2026.
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