Tokyo: Japan’s industry ministry plans to provide Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. with about 730 billion yen in aid for the construction of its planned second factory in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto, it was learned Friday.

The move is part of Japan’s efforts to ensure domestic procurement of semiconductors, an important material in light of economic security.

The ministry has already decided to give a maximum of 476 billion yen in assistance for the first Kumamoto plant of TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker.

Including the envisaged aid for the second plant, the Japanese government’s financial assistance for TSMC will reach about 1.2 trillion yen.

The Taiwanese company is scheduled to hold an opening ceremony for the first plant in the town of Kikuyo in Kumamoto on Saturday.

TSMC aims to start construction work for the second factory within 2024 and launch its operations by the end of 2027.

Total capital spending for the two plants is expected to top 20 billion dollars.

In line with the construction of the second plant, Toyota Motor Corp., Japan’s leading automaker, will join a semiconductor unit of Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Group Corp. and major Japanese auto parts maker Denso Corp. in investing in a TSMC subsidiary that will run the Kumamoto plants.

The factories, which will manufacture semiconductors for automobiles and advanced chips for artificial intelligence, is expected to create about 3,400 new jobs.

TSMC announced the plan to build the second plant on Feb. 6.

JIJI Press