TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio visited the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) factory in Kumamoto Saturday (April 6).

The Taiwanese chip giant’s first fab in Japan opened Feb. 24, with Kishida addressing the ceremony by video conference. The plant will start production during the final quarter of 2024, with a second fab to produce advanced 6-nanometer chips from 2027, Nikkei Asia reported.

Apart from exchanging views with TSMC CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家), Kishida also expressed his condolences for the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, per CNA. He also reportedly described the TSMC fab as a key element helping the development of a semiconductor supply chain in Japan, as well as the local EV manufacturing industry.

The Kumamoto factory is managed by Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM), a joint venture between TSMC, Sony Semiconductor Solutions, and Denso Corporation. It plans to turn out 55,000 wafers of the 12, 16, 22, and 28nm chips per month.

TSMC is also building a new plant in the U.S. state of Arizona, and preparing to establish another one near Dresden in the German state of Saxony.