Japan takes Taiwan’s helping hand in chip ops

Good partnership: The TSMC headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The company sees Japan as a natural fit with an industrious work culture suited to chipmaking and a government that is easy to deal with and generous with subsidies. — Bloomberg

CHIPMAKER Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd (TSMC) formally opens its first Japanese plant today, highlighting the Taiwanese firm’s critical role in Tokyo’s multi-billion-dollar efforts to reboot its once-mighty semiconductor manufacturing industry.

That Japan turned to TSMC for help on an industry it once dominated reflects the Taiwan chipmaker’s dominant position in the foundry business and Tokyo’s heightened concern over China’s growing prowess in a wide swathe of technology.