Rapidus picks northern Japan's Chitose as semiconductor plant location

TOKYO :Japan's state-backed Rapidus said on Tuesday it would build its semiconductor plant in Chitose, a manufacturing hub on the nation's northern island of Hokkaido.

The factory and a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co plant under construction on the southern island of Kyushu are the key pillars of Japan's strategy to boost its capability to make more advanced chips and shield itself from supply chain snarls.

Rapidus, which has announced a tie-up with International Business Machines Corp to develop and produce cutting-edge two-nanometre chips, said it plans to launch a prototype line in 2025, with mass production slated for the second half of the 2020s.

Rapidus Chairman Tetsuro Higashi told Reuters this month that the company would need about 7 trillion yen ($51.4 billion) of mostly taxpayer money to begin mass producing advanced logic chips around 2027.

Chitose, a city of about 100,000 people, already hosts a wide range of factories run by major manufacturers including silicon wafer maker SUMCO Corp and auto components maker Denso Corp.

($1 = 136.1500 yen)