Semiconductors
Kumamoto Earthquake Impact
Tracking the 2026 Kumamoto quake's impact on chip fabs
14 articles
Sony and TSMC Were Building Separate Plants in Kumamoto — Then in May, They Started Discussing Building One Together in Koshi
In Kumamoto, Sony and TSMC have each been building their own new plants, separately. After a May 8, 2026 MOU, the two companies signed a legally binding definitive agreement on August 11 to form a joint venture, Advanced Vision Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, at Sony's new plant in Koshi City. The same day, TSMC's board also approved a dollar-denominated dividend option and $29.4 billion in new capex. After the July 28 earthquake, existing sites are recovering, but neither company has issued any statement on how the quake affected the construction timelines of these two new plants.
記事を読む Kumamoto Earthquake 2026 / EnglishChips Took 8 Days, Cars Took 22 — The Kumamoto Earthquake Wrap-Up, and Why the Buildings Weren't What Split the Recovery
The 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake (magnitude 7.1, maximum intensity 7) struck at 4:27 p.m. JST on July 28, 2026. Thirteen days later, on August 9, semiconductor makers had largely restarted production within about eight days, while automakers stayed halted through August 19 and water utilities aren't expected to fully recover until the end of August. This is a full chronological wrap-up of JASM, Sony, Renesas, Mitsubishi Electric, Tokyo Electron Kyushu, and TOPPAN's recovery, the path to Japan's Severe Disaster and Specified Extreme Disaster designations, and what actually drove the gap in recovery speed — plus the risks that remain.
記事を読む Kumamoto Earthquake 2026 / EnglishThe National Share Just Hit 99.2% — Kumamoto Day 11, and Why Japan Designated Two Disaster Statuses on the Same Day
On August 7, the Japanese government approved cabinet orders by circular resolution designating the Kumamoto earthquake a Severe Disaster (Cabinet Order No. 259) and a Specified Extreme Disaster (Cabinet Order No. 260), both promulgated and enforced the same day. The effective national share of public infrastructure repair costs rises from 98.6% to 99.2%, and farmland from 98.0% to 99.6% — just four days after Kumamoto Governor Kei Kimura requested support on par with 2016. Under the Specified Extreme Disaster designation, driver's license deadlines are extended to January 27, 2027, and the inheritance-renunciation window to March 31, 2027. Water outages fell to about 36,400 households, and Kosa Town became the first municipality to fully resolve its outage. The Hisatsu Orange Railway will start bus replacement service on August 10, while Honda's Kumamoto motorcycle plant stays halted past August 17 and semiconductor makers report no new news.
記事を読む Kumamoto Earthquake 2026 / EnglishTOPPAN's Tamana Plant Wasn't Structurally Damaged — So Why Did the Restart Still Take Six Days?
TOPPAN Holdings said on July 31 that its semiconductor-materials plant in Tamana, Kumamoto Prefecture, suffered no damage to the building itself, yet expected to restart only around day six to seven of the earthquake, August 3-4. Fujifilm's Kumamoto site, evacuated in the same quake, still hadn't announced a restart timeline as of August 3.
記事を読む Kumamoto Earthquake 2026 / EnglishChips Came Back in Eight Days. Cars Won't Until August 19 — Kumamoto Day 8, and Why Honda Shut Saitama and Suzuka the Same Day Renesas Moved Up Its Restart
On August 4, Renesas's Kawajiri plant moved up its planned August 5 restart by a day and resumed production. That same day, Honda said it would halt four-wheel vehicle production at its Saitama plant, Suzuka plant, and Honda Auto Body through August 19, citing a damaged supplier's parts shortage. Toyota said it can't yet see when Aisin Kyushu will fully recover. TSMC Japan's official X account announced the night before, August 3, that JASM's Kumamoto fab was back to normal operations with a 250-million-yen donation — but TSMC itself has still issued zero press releases. The Fire Agency's damaged-home count tripled to 7,664, while water outages in Yatsushiro City fell for the first time since the quake.
記事を読む Kumamoto Earthquake 2026 / EnglishThe Factories Restarted. The Roads Didn't — Kumamoto Day 7, and Why the National Government Took Over Yatsushiro Port
On August 3, Tokyo Electron Kyushu moved into full operation, with Sony's Kikuyo plant to follow on the 4th and Renesas's Kawajiri plant on the 5th. But that same day, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced it would take over management of part of Yatsushiro Port's facilities at Kumamoto Prefecture's request through September 2. The Kyushu Shinkansen's restart within August is now in doubt, and damage at Aisin Kyushu halted even Toyota's Tahara plant in Aichi Prefecture. Power was fully restored across the prefecture in six days, while Yatsushiro City's 25,269 households without water haven't fallen by a single one since the earthquake.
記事を読む Kumamoto Earthquake 2026 / EnglishWhat Decides When a Fab Restarts Is Water — Kumamoto Day 5, and Why Kikuyo and Ozu Vanished from the Outage List
August 1 was a Saturday, and none of Kumamoto's semiconductor companies issued new statements. But the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's 14th damage report and the Prime Minister's Office's disaster-response meeting revealed what next week's planned fab restarts actually depend on — water and electricity. Water outages fell from a peak of about 108,100 households to about 71,000, and Kikuyo Town and Ozu Town — where Kumamoto's semiconductor sites are concentrated — disappeared from the outage list, even as the government ordered relevant agencies to keep power-supply vehicles running to maintain electricity.
記事を読む Kumamoto Earthquake 2026 / English30 Hours After the Quake, One Kumamoto Fab Was Already Running — What Split the Recovery Wasn't the Buildings
Just 30 hours after the earthquake, on the night of July 29, Renesas's Nishiki plant had already restarted production. Sony's Kikuyo plant, by contrast, still had no restart timeline as of the morning of July 31 — day four (it announced a phased restart from August 4 later that same evening). What split the recovery in two was what was inside the buildings: whether cleanroom conditions had been preserved. This article also covers the estimate that the impact on TSMC subsidiary JASM is limited to 0.03%, and the paradox that automotive chips alone still cannot be substituted even so.
記事を読む Kumamoto Earthquake 2026 / EnglishThe Buildings Survived, But the Fabs Can't Run — Kumamoto Day 3, and the 2016 Precedent Where 18% of the Tools Shifted 11mm
Three days after the M7.1 Kumamoto earthquake, TSMC subsidiary JASM has issued a third statement — and still has not declared a full recovery. Structural inspections are complete and utilities, power and industrial-safety systems are back to normal, but equipment inspection and recalibration (readjusting precision tools to their correct reference values) is taking time. In 2016, 18% of a Kumamoto fab's tools shifted more than 11mm out of position, and full recovery took anywhere from 10 days to 3 months. Here is the verified picture as of July 30: Ebara's precautionary shutdown and next-day restart, damage confirmed at 63 of the prefecture's 515 invited companies, spreading aftershocks, and a Fed rate hold.
記事を読む Kumamoto Earthquake 2026 / EnglishDay 2 in Kumamoto: TSMC Restarts, Renesas Finds Ceiling Damage, Tokyo Electron Drops 11% — the Recovery Splits
One day after the M7.1 Kumamoto earthquake, TSMC's JASM fab is gradually resuming operations after structural checks found its first fab unscathed. Renesas, however, found cracked walls, leaks and fallen ceiling panels at two plants, Sony's sensor fab has no restart date, and Tokyo Electron shares fell more than 11% intraday. Here is the verified status as of the afternoon of July 29.
記事を読む Kumamoto Earthquake 2026 / EnglishM7.1 Quake Hits Japan's 'Silicon Island': TSMC's JASM Halts, Tokyo Electron Inspects — Status of Every Kumamoto Fab
A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture at 4:27 p.m. JST on July 28, 2026, registering the maximum seismic intensity of 7. TSMC subsidiary JASM evacuated and halted operations, Tokyo Electron Kyushu will shut both plants for safety inspections on July 29, and TOPPAN and Fujifilm Kyushu stopped production. Here is what every semiconductor company in Kumamoto has said — and not said — as of the night of July 28.
記事を読む Kumamoto Earthquake 2026 / EnglishHow Long Will Kumamoto's Aftershocks Last? Japan's Official Forecast — and the One Chip Product With No Backup Factory
Japan's Meteorological Agency warns that earthquakes as strong as intensity 7 could strike for about a week after the July 28 M7.1 Kumamoto quake. This article translates the official aftershock outlook for global readers, then answers the question that determines whether this becomes a world problem: which products made in Kumamoto can be built elsewhere — and which cannot.
記事を読む Kumamoto Earthquake / Related ExplainerMount Aso Hasn't Erupted — What a 4.5-Year-First Warning Level 3 Means for Kumamoto's Chip Fabs
At 15:45 on August 14, 2026, JMA's Fukuoka District office issued a crater warning for Mount Aso and raised its eruption warning level from 2 to 3 (entry restricted) — the first such move in about four and a half years. No eruption has occurred. As of this reporting, JASM, Sony Semiconductor, Mitsubishi Electric, Renesas, and Tokyo Electron Kyushu have issued no public statement about the level change. Here's what happened, and what hasn't.
記事を読む Kumamoto Earthquake / Related ExplainerSakurajima's Ash Has Reached Kumamoto Before — No Record Yet Shows It Stopping a Chip Fab
Japan Meteorological Agency records show Sakurajima's volcanic ash actually reached Kumamoto in 1995 (northern Kyushu), and again in 2019 and 2020 (parts of Kumamoto Prefecture). Both were trace-level detections with no recorded thickness. As of August 7, 2026, Sakurajima remains at Eruption Warning Level 3 and activity is intensifying, but we found no record of ash causing real damage to a factory. Here's what reached Kumamoto, and what conditions would actually be needed for harm.
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