On the afternoon of January 1, 2024 local time, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake occurred on the Neden Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. According to industry reports, the earthquake also forced several semiconductor companies located in the area to temporarily suspend operations, including Toshiba, GlobalWafers, Murata Manufacturing, a manufacturer of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC), United Electric, Xintang, Takata Semiconductor, and International Electric.

At present, the above-mentioned manufacturers have arranged to resume work one after another.

Global Crystal has two factories located near the epicenter of the earthquake, Ishikawa Prefecture, in Niigata Prefecture, including the Niigata plant located in Saigon cho, Kitabara gun, and the Kanagawa plant located in Kanagawa Village, Iwakama gun. Global Crystal confirmed that the factory area near the epicenter was affected, and equipment that is sensitive to vibrations temporarily stopped working locally from the 1st to the 2nd. After confirming that it is undamaged, production has been fully resumed.

The Toshiba Kaga factory is located in the southwest of Ishikawa Prefecture, with one 6-inch and one 8-inch factory each, and a 12 inch factory expected to be completed in the first half of 2024; At present, Toshiba has ceased the operation of a facility at the Kaga factory, which is the main production hub for power semiconductors. Toshiba stated on January 5th that it has confirmed that there are no damages to the Kaga factory that may affect the resumption of operations. Currently, it is continuing to urgently inspect the condition of the production line and striving to resume partial production on January 10th.

On January 5th, Murata Production Office announced that eight out of the 13 factories in the three counties of Beilu had resumed work before the 9th, with some factories resuming production on the 3rd or 4th. The remaining five factories are still confirming the status of infrastructure and production equipment, and the time for resuming production is yet to be determined. Further notice will be given.

Murata pointed out that the Toyama Murata Manufacturing Institute, which produces piezoelectric products, will restart partial production from the 3rd; Starting from the 4th, partial production of MLCC and other “Fukui Murata Production Institute Musashi Business Institute” and “Fukui Murata Production Institute Miyazaki Factory” will resume; Starting from the 6th, the production of connectors and other products will resume at the Kamakura Murata Manufacturing Institute.

Kanazawa Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.’s Kanazawa Business Unit (high-frequency electronic components, sensors, resin multilayer substrate MetroCircle), Kanazawa Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.’s Nengmei Factory (same as Kanazawa Business Unit), Kanazawa Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (connectors, etc.), and Asuwa Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (EMI filters, etc.) will resume production from the 9th.

Komatsu Murata Manufacturing Office (RFID, SAW components, etc.), Bingjian Murata Manufacturing Office (ceramic filters, etc.), Hakui Murata Manufacturing Office (piezoelectric, etc.), Wakura Murata Manufacturing Office (resin multilayer substrate), and Koushui Murata Manufacturing Office (inductor, etc.) have confirmed the status of their infrastructure and production equipment. The restart time for production is uncertain, and further notice will be given.

The USJC, a 12 inch wafer fab in Sanchong County, Liandian, mainly produces logic ICs and power devices (IGBT, MOSFET) in the 40nm, 65nm, and 90nm processes, accounting for approximately 9% of Liandian’s total production capacity. This time, the earthquake intensity in the region is 4, which has a certain impact on factory production. At present, Liandian has not yet announced the latest impact disclosure.

The joint venture between Xintang and Tower, TPSCo, has three production bases located in Yuzu City, Toyama Prefecture, Ribo City, Toyama Prefecture, and Myoko City, Niigata Prefecture, including 8-inch and 12 inch wafer factories, all located near the earthquake center. TPSCo mainly produces automotive chips, including RF, high-performance analog, integrated power management, CMOS image sensors (CIS), and other chips. The process is 45nm and above, and there are also packaging and testing services available.

Xintang pointed out that after the strong earthquake occurred, emergency safety procedures were immediately initiated to shut down for inspection. Currently, it has been confirmed that all employees, offices, and factory buildings are safe and sound; The factory facilities and equipment are undergoing a comprehensive inspection, and the resumption time is also being evaluated. Xintang stated that the actual impact of the earthquake is still being counted.

Japanese semiconductor manufacturer International Electric stated that the Toyama Technology Manufacturing Center was not severely damaged, but some ceiling, wall materials, and air conditioning pipes at the facility were partially damaged. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct safety inspections, cleaning, and maintenance, and plan to gradually start normal operation from January 9th