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[global times special correspondent ren zhong] behind tsmc's expansion, japan's chip industry is facing a serious shortage of workers. according to the nikkei asian review on the 22nd, tsmc, the world's largest semiconductor foundry, will start shipping from its factory in kikuyo town, kumamoto prefecture, at the end of 2024. japanese companies such as sony group have also established new production and r&d facilities in the county. the local economy is booming, and new residential and commercial facilities are springing up. however, as demand expands, the problem of labor shortage in japan's chip industry has also become prominent.

kyushu island, where kumamoto is located, is known as japan's "silicon island". the kumamoto factory of tsmc, japan's advanced semiconductor manufacturing company, and the surrounding chip-related facilities built by sony and mitsubishi together form a local chip industry cluster. in addition to tokyo electron and sony group, local companies such as meistier are also building production and r&d buildings. the kyushu economic research center predicts that in the next 10 years, the economic ripple effect of chip-related investment in kumamoto will reach 10.53 trillion yen.

however, industry insiders said that japan's chip manufacturing industry is facing a serious shortage of workers. according to the kyushu semiconductor talent alliance, the region will face a shortage of 1,100 employees in chip design and manufacturing from 2023 to 2025, and the talent shortage is expected to reach 900 from 2026 to 2032.

reiji tanaka, head of chip company ask index, said that tsmc's expansion into kumamoto has led to a shortage of chip workers in kyushu and throughout japan. according to reports, after tsmc officially announced the construction of its first wafer factory in kumamoto in november 2021, by the end of 2022, its expansion in japan had increased semiconductor worker vacancies 13.4 times compared to 10 years ago.

in addition, the competitiveness of japan's semiconductor industry has been declining over the past 25 years. in the 1980s, japan's share of the global semiconductor field was close to 50%. however, it gradually fell behind the pace of large-scale investment competition in the later period, and its market share fell below 10% globally. according to data from the ministry of economy, trade and industry of japan, the number of employees in japan's semiconductor industry has decreased by 60% over the past 20 years.

japanese universities and technical colleges are racing to find solutions. in april this year, kumamoto university opened a "semiconductor equipment course" specifically for the semiconductor field, dedicated to providing human resources for japan's semiconductor industry. in june this year, four technical colleges in hokkaido also launched semiconductor courses.

the japanese government sees semiconductors as key to national economic security. tsmc's plan to build a second wafer fab in kikuyo has further boosted the country's demand for semiconductor industry workers. the report commented that if there is a delay in talent training, the continued talent gap will hinder the recovery of japan's semiconductor industry.