Taiwan, Japan team up

Taiwan and Japan are moving closer on the chemicals, wafers and tools that chip plants need before a single transistor is made. (digitimes.com) A semiconductor supply chain starts with raw inputs: silicon wafers are the polished discs chips are built on, photoresists are the light-sensitive coatings that print circuit patterns, and coater-developers are the machines that spread and process those coatings. Japan still holds about 53% of the global silicon-wafer market, 50% of photoresists and nearly 88% of coater-developers, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration. (trade.gov) Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in its July 2024 semiconductor strategy that Tokyo is building a “stable supply” system for manufacturing equipment, parts and raw materials, while advancing collaboration with Taiwan on next-generation semiconductors. The same strategy names power semiconductors, advanced packaging and materials for beyond-2-nanometer chips as priority areas. (meti.go.jp) Taiwan’s interest is practical. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company already runs a research center in Ibaraki Prefecture focused on three-dimensional chip stacking and advanced packaging, and the company says that center works with Japanese partners on packaging materials, processes and equipment. (tsmc.com) That work sits next to a bigger manufacturing buildout in Kumamoto. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Sony Semiconductor Solutions, Denso and Toyota said on February 6, 2024 that their Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing venture would build a second fab there, lifting planned total investment in Japan above $20 billion and expected site capacity above 100,000 12-inch wafers a month. (pr.tsmc.com) The plan has moved up the technology ladder since then. Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said on March 31, 2026 that it approved a shift to 3-nanometer production for the second Kumamoto fab, which is scheduled to come online in 2028 with monthly capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers. (taipeitimes.com) The less visible parts of chipmaking have become more important as factories spread across countries. A leading-edge fab can be built with subsidies, but it still depends on a dense network of specialty chemicals, substrates, inspection gear and packaging know-how that is harder to copy quickly. (tsmc.com) (trade.gov) The same materials push also overlaps with energy technology. Japan’s semiconductor strategy lists silicon carbide, gallium nitride and gallium oxide power semiconductors as targets because those chips help electric vehicles, chargers and power systems waste less electricity as heat. (meti.go.jp) This is not starting from zero. National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute and Tokyo Institute of Technology announced a joint declaration in July 2024 to work on next-generation heterogeneous integration, a packaging approach that combines different chips in one stack, explicitly pairing Taiwan’s manufacturing base with Japan’s strengths in materials and equipment. (web.ncku.edu.tw) Industry groups have also been formalizing the relationship. The Taiwan-Japan Semiconductor Supply Chain Exchange Association says it was set up to deepen cross-border cooperation, run business matchmaking and strengthen supply-chain resilience between the two ecosystems. (tj-semi.org) Put together, the picture is narrower than a broad political alliance and more concrete than a single fab announcement: Taiwan is trying to secure the upstream ingredients of chipmaking, and Japan is one of the few places that already controls them at scale. (digitimes.com) (trade.gov)