Japan attracts 6 trillion yen in foreign semiconductor investment

Japan has attracted approximately 6 trillion yen (about 53 trillion won) in foreign investment from semiconductor companies since 2021, driven by aggressive government subsidy policies aimed at rebuilding its domestic production base.

Key investments include TSMC, which recently announced a 747 billion yen investment with Sony Group for image sensor mass production in Kumamoto Prefecture, following previous investments exceeding 3 trillion yen. Additionally, US-based Micron is investing 1.5 trillion yen in Hiroshima to establish advanced DRAM production lines, and Israel's Tower Semiconductor is committing 600 billion yen to projects in Toyama Prefecture.

While these moves represent a significant effort to reclaim semiconductor leadership lost to South Korea and Taiwan in recent decades, reports suggest Japan's investment scale still trails behind the massive capital expenditures seen in South Korea and the United States.