New Delhi, July 29 -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) resumed operations at its Kumamoto semiconductor facility on Tuesday evening, only hours after a magnitude-7.1 earthquake forced workers to evacuate the site. The earthquake disrupted manufacturing across the region and claimed at least 13 lives in southern Japan.
According to a company statement cited by Reuters, employees at Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM) were unharmed and the facility cleared structural safety inspections. Engineers are continuing detailed equipment checks to determine whether production has been affected.
The earthquake also disrupted operations at several other major manufacturers. Reuters reported that Tokyo Electron halted production at its two Kumamoto facilities until Wednesday, while Sony and Fujifilm evacuated their employees. Honda also temporarily suspended operations at its motorcycle plant in the prefecture.
A temporary shutdown at a factory in one Japanese prefecture attracts worldwide attention because Kumamoto has emerged as one of Japan's most important semiconductor manufacturing hubs.
The region is home to companies producing chips, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and image sensors used in automobiles, industrial machinery, consumer electronics and increasingly artificial intelligence applications.
Although Kumamoto had an established semiconductor industry long before TSMC arrived-with Sony manufacturing image sensors there and Tokyo Electron producing chipmaking equipment-the Taiwanese chipmaker significantly expanded the region's strategic importance.
TSMC set up Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM) in 2021 with minority investments from Sony Semiconductor Solutions, automotive supplier Denso and Toyota Motor.
Construction of the first factory began in 2022, and commercial production started at the end of 2024, according to TSMC's 2025 annual report.
When announcing the project, TSMC said combined investment across its two Kumamoto facilities would exceed $20 billion ( Rs.1.91 lakh crore), with an expected production capacity of more than 100,000 12-inch wafers every month.
The investment has turned Kumamoto into a major semiconductor centre by bringing together the world's largest contract chipmaker, one of the leading image sensor manufacturers and a major producer of semiconductor equipment within the same industrial cluster.
JASM's first factory manufactures semiconductors using several fabrication technologies, including 12-, 16-, 22-, 28- and 40-nanometre processes.
While these are not the industry's most advanced chips, they remain essential for vehicles, industrial equipment, consumer electronics and other products that require dependable long-life components.
The second factory was originally planned to manufacture 6- and 7-nanometre chips. However, in February 2026, TSMC chief executive CC Wei announced that it would instead produce 3-nanometre semiconductors to meet rapidly growing AI demand.
Three-nanometre chips are widely used in high-performance processors and AI servers. At present, most of TSMC's cutting-edge chips continue to be manufactured in Taiwan.
Japanese newspaper Yomiuri estimated that the revised Kumamoto project would cost around $17 billion. Reuters reported that while TSMC confirmed the shift to 3-nanometre production, it declined to comment on the investment estimate.
Sony is both an investor in JASM and a major semiconductor manufacturer in Kumamoto.
Its image sensors are widely used in smartphones, digital cameras, vehicles, industrial equipment and security systems. According to the company, Sony accounts for around 53% of the global image sensor market by revenue.
In May, Sony and TSMC signed a non-binding agreement to explore a joint venture at Sony's new facility in Koshi City, Kumamoto. The proposed venture would focus on developing and manufacturing next-generation image sensors for sectors including automotive technology and robotics.
Sony would retain control of the venture if a final binding agreement is reached. Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from MINT. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at [email protected]