The regional AI and semiconductor boom is stimulating investment across Japan. Led by Rapidus's plant in Chitose, Hokkaido, new construction plans are moving forward for TSMC's Kumamoto No. 2 plant and Kyocera's Isahaya plant in Nagasaki, while Akita City's AI data center plan is expected to be the largest of its kind in Japan.
Capital investment related to AI and semiconductors is gathering momentum across Japan in tandem with trends in the stock market. Experts point to both optimism and the prospect of a correction, while views are also growing that the investment will help revitalize regional economies.
New semiconductor plants are being planned one after another across Japan, with Rapidus's plant in Chitose, Hokkaido, TSMC's Kumamoto No. 2 plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, and Kyocera's plant in Isahaya, Nagasaki Prefecture, at the center of these plans. In Akita City, plans are advancing to build an AI data center, with costs expected to reach approximately ¥2 trillion.
Government subsidies and other factors that encouraged private investment have also been cited from the perspective of regional revitalization. At the same time, the view is gaining ground that investment based on the expected arrival of an AI-driven society will revitalize regional economies.