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Micron Technology headquarters. (Courtesy of Micron Technology) |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Micron Technology, the U.S.-based memory semiconductor company, is undertaking a large-scale expansion of its Hiroshima plant in Japan.
According to a report by the Nikkei on the 29th, Micron will invest ¥1.5 trillion (approximately KRW 14 trillion) to build new manufacturing facilities dedicated to next-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) production in Hiroshima.
The Japanese government, through the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), has agreed to provide up to ¥500 billion in subsidies—equivalent to one-third of the total investment.
Micron’s new plant is set to begin construction in May 2026, with production and shipments of next-generation HBM scheduled to begin in 2028. The Nikkei reported that this expansion will allow Japan to secure a stable domestic supply of key components that determine AI server performance.
Japan’s semiconductor strategy also includes Rapidus, a government-backed initiative aimed at mass-producing cutting-edge 2-nanometer system semiconductors in Hokkaido by 2027.
According to the Nikkei, the Japanese government envisions building a fully integrated national supply chain in which both system semiconductors—the “brains” of AI—and memory semiconductors, which store data, are produced domestically.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
