The Japanese government wants Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world’s leading chipmaker, and Sony Group to build the country’s first 20-nanometer chip factory.
The event, first reported by the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper, indicates that the investment to build a 20nm chip plant in Japan will be around 1 trillion yen, which is roughly equivalent to $ 9.2 billion.
If the companies agree to do so, the plant will be built next to Sony’s image sensor plant in southwestern Japan. The details are taken from a proposal made by Japan’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, the report said.
Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said “a stable chip supply is essential for Japan to maintain its international competitiveness,” but did not comment on the development of a 20nm chip factory. A ministry spokesman told Reuters the report was untrue but declined to go into details.
Similar to the US, Japan is also looking for opportunities to increase semiconductor production in the country to provide its companies with easier access to critical components for making devices.
The problems arose after a trade war between the United States and China, which raised fears that most of the world’s chip production is in Taiwan. The global shortage of microcircuits is also one of the factors contributing to the expansion of production capacity in other regions to ensure a steady flow of critical components.
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