Japan approves 60bn yen for Sony image sensor plant in Kumamoto
The subsidy will support Sony expansion plans in Kumamoto as Tokyo moves to secure strategic semiconductor supplies under economic security rules.
- Japan's industry ministry will provide Sony with up to 60 billion yen in aid for a new image sensor plant in Kumamoto.
- The grant is part of a national strategy to ensure a stable domestic supply of semiconductors for economic security.
- The new factory has a total cost of 180 billion yen and will produce sensors for items like smartphone cameras and self-driving vehicles.
- The investment aims to help Sony, the current market leader, strengthen its production and sales against growing competition from Chinese and South Korean rivals.
Japan's industry ministry said Friday (April 17) that it will provide up to 60 billion yen in aid for a state-of-the-art image sensor plant being built in southwestern Japan by Sony Group Corp.
The state aid is intended to help ensure a stable supply of semiconductors, designated as a specified important item under the economic security promotion law. The aid will be used for production and other facilities.
Image sensors are used for smartphone cameras and cameras for self-driving vehicles.
The plant in the city of Koshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, is being constructed by Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., a subsidiary based in the Kumamoto town of Kikuyo, at a total cost of 180 billion yen. The factory is expected to have a monthly production capacity of 10,000 300-millimetre wafers, with supplies seen starting in May 2029.
Sony Group, which already has the world's largest share of image sensors, aims to further strengthen production and sales as development competition intensifies amid the growing presence of Chinese and South Korean rivals.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
