People exit the Micron headquarters building in Shanghai, China. Photo by ALEX PLAVEVSKI / EPA
July 5 (Asia Today) — Japan is positioning itself as a production base for artificial intelligence memory chips by backing a major expansion by U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology, raising a new challenge to South Korea’s lead in high-bandwidth memory.
Micron broke ground Saturday on an expansion of its Hiroshima plant in western Japan, according to Japanese media. The project will expand cleanroom space at Micron Memory Japan’s facility in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, to strengthen production capacity for next-generation DRAM and high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, used in AI servers.
The expansion covers about 28,000 square meters. Micron plans to proceed in stages and begin installing manufacturing equipment in the second half of 2028.
The project involves about ¥1.5 trillion, or about $9.2 billion, in capital investment and is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will provide up to ¥536 billion, or about $3.3 billion, in support for investment and research and development.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
“As AI is increasingly implemented in society, demand for high-performance semiconductors will continue to grow,” Kishida said. “The efforts in Hiroshima will become even more important.”
The investment reflects Japan’s push to secure advanced semiconductor supply chains at home amid U.S.-China technology competition and risks surrounding the Taiwan Strait. As AI servers and data centers expand, Tokyo increasingly views advanced semiconductors not only as industrial products but as core infrastructure for economic security.
Micron’s Hiroshima expansion is not just a foreign company adding production capacity in Japan. It is part of Tokyo’s broader effort to rebuild its domestic semiconductor base by attracting foreign leaders in areas where Japanese companies alone cannot quickly restore global competitiveness.
Japan has already supported Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s plants in Kumamoto and the state-backed chip venture Rapidus. With Micron, the government is extending that strategy into the memory sector.
HBM is considered a core component of AI semiconductors, along with graphics processing units. Large AI servers require high-performance memory to process data quickly. South Korea’s SK hynix has led the HBM market through its supply relationship with Nvidia, while Samsung Electronics has been trying to catch up with HBM3E and next-generation products.
Micron is also accelerating production of HBM3E and future HBM products. Its Hiroshima expansion is significant because it combines Micron’s technology and customer network with Japan’s subsidies, manufacturing base and semiconductor materials and equipment ecosystem.
If next-generation AI memory demand grows sharply after 2028, Hiroshima could emerge as a key base in a U.S.-linked HBM supply chain.
For South Korea, Micron’s move does not immediately threaten the competitiveness of SK hynix or Samsung. But Japan’s willingness to spend heavily to attract U.S. memory chip production is a development Seoul cannot ignore.
The race for AI semiconductor dominance is expanding beyond GPUs and foundries into the location of memory production. Japan’s support for Micron shows Tokyo is moving to re-emerge as a central player in the global semiconductor supply chain.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260705010001566
