TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's leading contract semiconductor chip manufacturer, celebrated the inauguration of its first fabrication plant in Japan on Saturday (Feb. 24) in a significant step in its global expansion strategy.
The Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc. (JASM) fab in Kumamoto Prefecture represents a key milestone in TSMC's strategy to broaden its manufacturing footprint beyond Taiwan. The ceremony was attended by TSMC's top brass, including founder Morris Chang, Chairman Mark Liu, and CEO C.C. Wei, alongside a host of dignitaries from the Japanese government, industry partners, and academia.
TSMC Chairman Mark Liu expressed his gratitude towards the Japanese government, the local community, and business partners such as Sony and Denso for their unwavering support for the project. The event also featured a congratulatory video message from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who lauded the plant's opening as a "giant first step" in bolstering the capabilities of Japan's semiconductor industry in alignment with country's broader ambition to revive its once-dominant chip production industry and reduce its dependency on imports.
JASM is poised to commence operations later this year. TSMC and minority investors Sony Semiconductor Solutions (SSS), DENSO, and Toyota also recently announced plans for a second fab at the JASM site, which is scheduled to commence construction by the end of 2024 and begin operation by the end of 2027.
The overall investment in JASM will exceed US＄20 billion with strong support from the Japanese government. When both fabs are in operation, the site is expected to reach a total production capacity of more than 100,000 12-inch wafers per month.
The JASM Kumamoto site will focus on manufacturing advanced chips for automotive, industrial, consumer, and high-performance computing applications. The site will implement rigorous sustainability practices, including using 100% renewable energy when it starts operation, replenishing more than 100% of the groundwater it uses, and building a local supply chain.
In addition to Kumamoto, TSMC is also building new fabrication plants in Phoenix, Arizona, and Dresden, as part of its global expansion strategy. TSMC also celebrated a "topping out" milestone over the weekend, signifying the last steel beam being raised into place on a construction project, for its second semiconductor fab in Phoenix, Arizona.
In an official LinkedIn post, the company confirmed that it is continuing to make significant progress in completing its first TSMC Arizona fab, which remains on track to begin production in the first half of 2025. According to the company, the two fabs at TSMC Arizona will manufacture the most advanced semiconductor technology in the U.S., creating 4,500 direct high-tech, high-wage jobs and enabling our customers' leadership in the high-performance computing and artificial intelligence era for decades.