Fujifilm and Canon announce production expansions to meet rising demand

Fujifilm has announced a 3 billion JPY capital investment to enhance production facilities for its instax™ film at the Kanagawa Factory's Ashigara Site in Japan. This move aims to address growing global demand for the instant photo system, which has seen cumulative worldwide sales exceed 100 million units. The new facilities are expected to begin operating in stages from spring 2027, reaching full capacity by spring 2028, which will increase production by approximately 20% compared to fiscal year 2026.

Separately, Canon is reportedly planning to increase its production capacity for semiconductor lithography equipment used in back-end processes by 50% by 2029, compared to 2026 levels. This expansion is driven by a surge in demand for advanced semiconductor back-end equipment starting around mid-2025, including interest from high-bandwidth memory (HBM) manufacturers. Canon intends to utilize its new Utsunomiya plant, which is scheduled to begin production in September 2025 and reach full capacity by 2027.