Micron Technology held a groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of its western Japan factory on Saturday, with the project investing 1.5 trillion yen (approximately $93 billion) to focus on mass-producing high-end memory chips.

This Boise, Idaho-based company has selected Hiroshima for factory construction, producing core chips such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM). These products are critical supporting components for AI processors from companies like NVIDIA. The new production line is scheduled to begin external shipments around the summer of 2028. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry will provide up to 50 billion yen in subsidies to share the project costs.

This expansion is part of Micron’s global capacity expansion strategy to meet the surging demand for chips in the AI industry. Micron is constructing two state-of-the-art wafer fabs in Boise and held a groundbreaking ceremony for a $100 billion production base in Syracuse, New York, in January, fulfilling its commitment to expand DRAM chip production capacity in the United States.

Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated at the groundbreaking ceremony attended by Japanese central and local government officials: “The world’s first high-bandwidth memory wafer for AI core storage technology was born at the Hiroshima factory. When American pioneering spirit combines with Japan’s exquisite craftsmanship, the result is not a compromise product but chips of world-class excellence.”

The expanded factory in Japan will optimize the power consumption and transmission performance of AI applications and autonomous driving chips. To date, the Japanese government has provided approximately 775 billion yen in R&D subsidies to Micron.

Since 2021, Japan has invested billions of dollars to support the semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries, aiming to reclaim its leading position in this critical sector tied to national security. Last month, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced an industrial roadmap, targeting a combined public-private investment of 101.6 trillion yen in chips and AI by March 2041, though the specific government funding allocation remains undisclosed.

Hiroshi Nobasa, the director of Micron Japan, stated, “The core strength of the Hiroshima plant lies in its ability to deliver cutting-edge high-performance chips to customers swiftly. Developing and manufacturing the next-generation chips here aligns perfectly with Micron’s overall strategy.”

In 2013, Micron acquired the bankrupt Japanese DRAM manufacturer Elpida Memory, thereby taking over the factory in Hiroshima.

Japan possesses a significant number of leading manufacturers in high-end chip raw materials and production equipment, but it has largely lost its leading position in the field of finished chip manufacturing. Hiroshi Nobasa revealed that approximately 80% of the chip raw materials at the Hiroshima factory are currently supplied domestically in Japan.