TSMC's Japan factory in Kumamoto temporarily halted operations after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck at 4:27 PM on the 28th. The company evacuated all employees following safety protocols and resumed production in stages after confirming building structural integrity. The Kumamoto facility produces logic semiconductors and represents less than 4% of TSMC's total production capacity, limiting direct impact on global memory chip supply.
Approximately 48,000 households in the Kyushu Electric Power service area experienced power outages, and Shinkansen and airline operations were suspended. Seismic intensity reached 7 at the epicenter and 5-strong at the factory location in Kikuyo, where TSMC's Japanese subsidiary JASM is located. The company completed building structural inspections before resuming production, though detailed equipment assessments and impact evaluations are ongoing. The second factory construction site sustained no direct damage but some construction work was temporarily suspended as a precaution against aftershocks.
TSMC Kumamoto Plant Represents Less Than 4% of Total Capacity
According to TSMC's annual report, the JASM first factory has a monthly production capacity of 55,000 12-inch wafers based on 12/16-nanometer and 22/28-nanometer processes. The facility primarily produces semiconductors for automotive, industrial equipment, and image sensor peripheral logic applications. TSMC's total 2025 production capacity exceeds 17 million 12-inch wafer equivalents annually, making the Kumamoto first factory's share less than 4% by simple calculation. The products currently manufactured are not the advanced processors used by Apple and NVIDIA. The second factory under construction is pursuing plans to mass-produce 3-nanometer semiconductors starting in 2028.
Wafer Loss Occurs Despite Structural Integrity
Semiconductor factories can experience production losses even without structural building damage. Strong vibrations and momentary voltage drops can damage wafers in process, and photolithography, etching, and deposition equipment's fine alignment, automated material handling systems, and gas, vacuum, and ultrapure water facilities require re-verification. During the 2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, TSMC facilities did not suffer serious damage to structures or power, water, and gas supply, but work-in-progress damage and delayed equipment recovery postponed delivery of approximately 100,000 12-inch wafers and 20,000 8-inch wafers to the next quarter. In contrast, during the 2024 Hualien earthquake off Taiwan's eastern coast, over 70% of equipment was restored within 10 hours and all equipment normalized by the third day, though the company still recorded losses of approximately NT$3 billion. The 2016 Kumamoto earthquake demonstrated how long recovery can take when damage is severe—Sony's Kumamoto factory resumed wafer processing about a month later but did not recover pre-earthquake input levels until late July.
Tokyo Electron Suspends Kumamoto Operations Until the 29th
Semiconductor manufacturing equipment company Tokyo Electron suspended operations at two Kumamoto-area factories until the 29th, and Sony and Fujifilm also evacuated employees as inspections proceeded across the Kyushu semiconductor cluster. If aftershocks or transportation disruptions become prolonged, equipment parts supply, on-site engineer dispatch, and maintenance schedules could face delays. TSMC's stock price fell 2.98% on the Taiwan stock exchange on the previous day, while TSMC American Depositary Receipts (ADR) dropped as much as 4.5% intraday but closed down around 1%.
FAQ
What happened at TSMC's Japan factory on the 28th?
TSMC's Kumamoto factory temporarily halted operations after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck at 4:27 PM on the 28th. The company evacuated all employees following safety protocols, confirmed building structural integrity, and resumed production in stages.
How much of TSMC's production capacity does the Kumamoto plant represent?
The Kumamoto first factory has a monthly capacity of 55,000 12-inch wafers. Considering TSMC's total 2025 production capacity exceeds 17 million 12-inch wafer equivalents annually, the Kumamoto plant represents less than 4% of total capacity by simple calculation.
Why did Tokyo Electron suspend operations after the earthquake?
Tokyo Electron suspended operations at two Kumamoto-area factories until the 29th as part of safety inspections following the earthquake. Sony and Fujifilm also evacuated employees as inspections proceeded across the Kyushu semiconductor cluster.
