This file photo shows a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plant in Hsinchu, Taiwan. (Photo courtesy of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co./Kyodo)

       TAIPEI (Kyodo) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to build an advanced chip-making factory in Japan in 2022 and start operations there in 2024, CEO C.C. Wei said Thursday.

       Wei told an on-line investor's conference that after conducting due diligence, the company decided to build a specialty technology fab, subject to the approval of its board of directors.

       "We have received a strong commitment to support this project from both our customers and the Japanese government," Wei said.

       The announcement came days after a news report that the Japanese government is considering financial support for the world's largest contract chipmaker to build a chip-making factory, potentially with Sony Group Corp., in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto.

       While Wei did not disclose where in Japan the plant will be built, he said the company will receive assistance from the Japanese government and the plant will produce 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer chips.

       Chips that size are used in automobiles and consumer electronics, according to the Japanese industry ministry.

       Speaking as the company reported its earnings in the July-September period, the chief executive said that by expanding production bases on a global scale, the company can acquire many talents and meet the needs of its clients.

       The Japanese government has wanted a semiconductor manufacturing base to be built in the country amid the global computer chip crunch.

       Sony Group already has a plant in Kikuyo that makes the image sensors used in smartphones.

       According to sources with knowledge of the matter, the government aid for TSMC could be as much as several billion U.S. dollars and could be included in a supplementary budget that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida aims to compile by the end of December.

       The move to build a chip plant in Japan came after TSMC announced in February that it decided to establish a subsidiary for research and development in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo.

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