Japan readies multiyear support package for TSMC's new chip plant

Tokyo seeks to secure stable supply but heavy subsidies risk WTO ire

Guards stand at the entrance gate of the parliament building in Tokyo. The Japanese government sees TSMC's new chip plant as vital to its national security. © Reuters

MAYUMI HIROSAWA, RYOHEI YASOSHIMA and JUNTARO ARAI, Nikkei staff writers

October 15, 2021 09:06 JST

Updated on October 16, 2021 01:05 JST

TOKYO -- The Japanese government is planning a multiyear support package for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which has announced that it will build its first-ever chip plant in the country.

Koichi Hagiuda, minister of economy, trade and industry, disclosed the plan in a news conference Friday, saying that Tokyo will begin by securing several billion dollars' worth of subsidies in the fiscal 2021 supplementary budget to be formed after the Oct. 31 general election.