Tech Chip renaissance predicted for Japan

Addressing industry figures, government officials and dozens of reporters at the ceremony, Chang recounted his first trip to Japan. He arrived in 1968 as vice president of Texas Instruments' integrated circuit business to start a joint venture with Sony in Japan. The first person he met during that visit was Akio Morita, the legendary founder of the electronics titan. During their two-hour conversation, Chang recalled, Morita told him: "You will be pleasantly surprised by the yield you will achieve in Japan." Yield is a key measure of production quality and is crucial in determining whether a chip plant can operate efficiently enough to generate a profit. The TSMC founder said he later helped start several chip plants for TI across Japan. To his surprise, Chang said, "Mr. Morita's prediction came true."

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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will reportedly be among those attending Saturday afternoon's opening ceremony with senior TSMC executives. Firms like Toshiba and NEC helped Japan dominate in microchips in the 1980s, but competition from South Korea and Taiwan saw its global market share slump from more than 50 per cent to around 10 per cent. Now, Japan is making up to four trillion JPY ($26.7 billion) in state sweeteners to help triple the sales of domestically produced chips to more than 15 trillion JPY by 2030. The new TSMC plant in Kikuyo, for which the government pledged over 40 per cent of the costs -- Sony and Denso are also on board -- is just the first.

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