TSMC to hold first board meeting in Japan on February 9

TSMC will hold its first board meeting in Japan on February 9 in Kumamoto, marking the company’s inaugural meeting in the country, according to sources.

The meeting follows a recent visit by TSMC’s chairman and CEO, C.C. Wei, who met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss plans for the company’s expansion in Japan.

TSMC plans to produce advanced 3nm chips at its second Kumamoto fab, which is under construction and scheduled to start production in late 2027, to meet rising global AI demand.

The company’s first Kumamoto plant, operational since late 2024, is supported by Japanese firms such as Sony and Toyota.

Japanese reports indicate the total investment in the second fab will reach US$17 billion, up from US$12.2 billion.

Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Kung Ming-hsin, said that TSMC’s global investment plans are driven by client needs and market conditions, and that the company is unlikely to reduce investments in Taiwan despite its overseas expansion.

🔗 Source: Focus Taiwan

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The Japan fab’s upgrade from older tech to cutting-edge chips

TSMC plans to turn its second Kumamoto factory into a move up the technology ladder, not only a larger footprint.
The site was first expected to make 6-nanometer to 12-nanometer chips, with an estimated budget of about US$12.2 billion 1.
A newly reported US$17 billion plan would switch output to 3-nanometer technology, which C.C. Wei called “the most advanced process used by AI and smartphone products” 2.
Government support likely helped enable the shift, since Japan planned roughly 730 billion yen (US$4.7 billion) in subsidies for the second factory 3.

Japan’s dual strategy aims to bolster its chip ambitions and the global tech supply chain

3nm production would give the country access to today’s most advanced chip manufacturing, which the government links to its AI ambitions 4.
The plan also lines up with Rapidus (a government-backed Japanese semiconductor company), which aims to mass-produce 2-nanometer chips from the second half of 2027 2.
Japanese reports say officials decided TSMC and Rapidus would serve different uses, so they would not compete 1.
For customers such as Apple and Nvidia, the factory would add a leading-edge site outside Taiwan, easing worries about supply chain concentration and geopolitical risk 5.