On December 2023, 12, Kyushu University, Kumamoto University, and Kumamoto Prefecture signed a comprehensive partnership agreement to realize the internationally competitive "New Silicon Island Kyushu." By working together to promote semiconductor research and develop human resources in the semiconductor field, we will help revive Japan's semiconductor industry, which has been in a slump for a long time.
According to Kyushu University, the signing ceremony for the comprehensive partnership agreement was held at the Kumamoto Prefectural Office, where Kumamoto Prefecture Governor Ikuo Kabashima, Kyushu University President Tatsuro Ishibashi, and Kumamoto University President Hisao Ogawa gathered to sign the agreement.
The comprehensive partnership agreement states that Kyushu will work together to realize a ``new silicon island Kyushu'' by promoting semiconductor research, developing human resources in the semiconductor field, and utilizing research results to solve regional issues. At the same time, we will work with new semiconductor industry clusters such as Hokkaido to contribute to economic security.
Kyushu has long had a thriving semiconductor industry, and in the 1980s it accounted for approximately 10% of the world's production, earning it the nickname "Silicon Island." However, as Japan's economy slumped, its position in the global semiconductor industry was declining, but Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC), the world's number one semiconductor contract manufacturer, expanded into Kumamoto Prefecture.
Economic activity in Kumamoto Prefecture is revitalizing on an unprecedented scale, with employment expansion, land prices, and wages rising. For this reason, Kumamoto Prefecture and other countries are actively working to revive Silicon Island.
