Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), a Taiwan-based semiconductor company, in collaboration with Japan's financial firm SBI Holdings, has officially announced the location of its upcoming semiconductor manufacturing plant in Japan. This 12-inch JV fab will be established in Ohira Village, situated in the northeastern Miyagi prefecture, specifically within the second northern Sendai central industrial park.
The decision to establish the facility in this location, as announced by PSMC, is based on several key factors. Firstly, the area boasts robust foundational infrastructure, including stable provisions for water supply, drainage, high-voltage power supply, and efficient logistical capabilities. Furthermore, the industrial park exhibits a remarkable resilience to natural disasters. The quality of the surrounding living environment is also noteworthy, and there is a promising potential for future industry-university collaboration.
During the press conference where the site was revealed, SBI Holdings' founder and CEO, Yoshitaka Kitao highlighted that the northeastern regions of Japan already have well-established semiconductor supply chains. This factor, as reported by Japanese news agencies Kyodo and Nikkei, contributes to highly efficient semiconductor production.
In this locale, industrial clusters related to the semiconductor and automotive sectors have already taken shape. PSMC's new factory, slated to commence production of logic ICs for electric vehicles (EVs) and communication devices in 2027, is close to Toyota's factory and the East Japan regional headquarters within the same industrial park, fostering possibilities for nearby supply chains.
Comprehensive ecosystem located within the Miyagi Prefecture
Numerous semiconductor and automotive component factories are also located within Miyagi prefecture and the surrounding northeastern prefectures of Japan. These include Lapis Semiconductor in Ohira Village, Miyagi; Kioxia's NAND Flash factory in Iwate prefecture; Denso's factory in Iwate prefecture; and Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing in Yamagata prefecture. These facilities produce a wide range of products, from cutting-edge NAND memory to automotive semiconductors, microcontrollers (MCUs), CMOS image sensors (CIS), and more. Additionally, Renesas Electronics operates a semiconductor back-end production line at its Yonezawa factory in Yamagata prefecture.
Tokyo Electron (TEL), a semiconductor equipment manufacturer, is constructing a new film equipment factory in Iwate prefecture, along with a research and development facility for plasma etching equipment in Tagajo, Miyagi. This expansion has led several suppliers of TEL to establish factories in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures.
Factories for semiconductor materials such as silicon wafers, photomasks, and gases used for semiconductor surface treatment are also present in the region. For example, Shin-Etsu Chemical, a major silicon wafer producer, operates Shin-Etsu Semiconductor, its subsidiary, in Shirakawa, Fukushima prefecture.
Regarding logistics and transportation convenience, the Second Northern Sendai Central Industrial Park is within an hour's drive of Sendai Airport and Sendai Station and is approximately a 30-minute drive from Sendai Port.
In terms of semiconductor research resources, Tohoku University in Sendai boasts several renowned semiconductor scholars and clean rooms on its campus. In the 2024 fiscal year (from April 2024 to March 2025), a state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation research facility called NanoTerasu is set to open on the Aobayama campus within Sendai City. It is akin to the facilities in Hsinchu, Taiwan, which serve as an industry cluster, drawing together universities, research institutions, and semiconductor factories.
