TSMC prizes Japan's chips skills after US stumbles, sources say
https://www.reuters.com/technology/tsmc-prizes-japans-chips-skills-after-us-stumbles-sources-2023-09-12/

(抜粋)
NATURAL FIT
The U.S., Japan and Germany have offered TSMC billions of dollars in subsidies for it to localise production in efforts to diversify the supply of chips, which are essential to the defence, automotive and electronics industries.

The $40 billion investment in Arizona allows TSMC to add capacity outside Taiwan, where it faces constraints on land, power, water and labour.

But the company views Japan as a more natural fit in terms of work culture, and its government is easy to deal with and generous with subsidies, the sources said.

"The relationship between TSMC and the Japanese government is mutually beneficial," said Lucy Chen, an analyst at Isaiah Research.

Japan's advantages for the chipmaker include its network of chip equipment and materials suppliers, similarities in work culture and proximity to Taiwan, she added.

TSMC sees workers in Japan, which is known for long hours and strong commitment to employers, as more willing to work a punishing schedule with overtime as chipmaking machines run around the clock in sterile clean rooms, the sources said.

"A lot of machines cannot be shut down because it costs TSMC to recalibrate on rebooting," said a chip industry executive.

It is only a two-hour flight to Kyushu, where TSMC is partnering with companies including Sony (6758.T), a leading maker of image sensors.

Taiwanese workers arriving to help set up the fab are welcome, and the chipmaker will pay higher wages to secure local employees as it competes with rivals such as foundry venture Rapidus, the sources said.

"It seems to us that TSMC is really positive about investment in Japan," said a senior official at the powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which has offered subsidies worth up to 476 billion yen ($3.23 billion) for the first fab.

"We will really welcome the second fab project in general but we have to see the detail first," the official said.

While many equipment and materials makers already have global operations, to meet its exacting standards TSMC has also brought suppliers to Japan from Taiwan, the sources said.