“The decision to build a second fab is a vote of confidence by TSMC in Japan where construction of the first fab has run smoothly and which, Reuters has reported, it sees as a source of diligent workers with a government that is easy to deal with.”
TSMC announced the first Kumamoto fab in 2021, opens it this month, and already wants a second one running by the end of 2027. Tokyo is backing a venture that will top $20 billion, with Sony, Denso and Toyota holding small stakes. The $40 billion Arizona project gets no such compliment. TSMC still keeps the most advanced manufacturing at home in Taiwan.