Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, plans to sign a memorandum for comprehensive collaboration with Japan’s Kyushu University covering training and joint research on semiconductors, the **Yomiuri Shimbun** reported yesterday.
TSMC is expected to hold seminars at the university and the two plan to conduct joint studies and write papers together, the newspaper cited sources close to the university as saying.
They are also considering an internship program, under which Kyushu University students would be dispatched to TSMC operations in Taiwan, it said.
Photo: Mike Kai Chen, Bloomberg
The agreement would be TSMC’s first of its kind with a Japanese university after the chipmaker launched its first semiconductor manufacturing fab in Kumamoto Prefecture in late February as it aims to improve chip supply resilience and help revive Japan’s semiconductor industry.
The Kumamoto fab is slated to start mass production in the fourth quarter of this year, and TSMC plans to build a second fab in the prefecture — with partners Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp, Denso Corp and Toyota Motor Corp — which is scheduled to start operations by the end of 2027.
With TSMC’s arrival, Kyushu, where Kumamoto Prefecture is situated, is expected to see a shortfall of 1,000 technical experts in the semiconductor industry per year over the next decade, the **Yomiuri Shimbun** said.
To ensure sufficient talent for its operations, TSMC believes it is necessary to work with Kyushu University, it said.
Separately, Japan and the US are to announce closer cooperation in high-tech areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) in a joint statement when Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with US President Joe Biden this month, the **Asahi Shimbun** reported on Saturday.
Biden is set to host Kishida for an official visit to the US on Wednesday next week.
Calling ties between the allies a "global partnership," the joint statement is to advocate stronger cooperation in AI and semiconductors, **Asahi** said without citing its sources.
As part of the agreement, Japan and the US would likely set up a framework for AI research and development, working with Nvidia Corp, Arm Holdings PLC and Amazon.com Inc, among others, the newspaper said.
The US has moved aggressively in the past few months to halt shipments of advanced AI chips to China, in its efforts to stop Beijing from getting cutting-edge US technology that could strengthen its military.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
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