Micron Technology is preparing a major expansion in Japan, with plans to invest ¥1.5 trillion (US$9.6 billion) to construct a new plant in Hiroshima dedicated to advanced high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, according to a report by Nikkei on November 29, citing people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. memory chipmaker aims to begin construction at an existing Hiroshima site in May 2025 and start shipments around 2028. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is expected to provide subsidies of up to ¥500 billion (approximately US$3.2 billion) to support the project, the report said. Reuters noted it could not immediately verify the details.

Japan Accelerates Efforts to Revitalize Its Chip Industry

Japan has been offering large-scale subsidies to attract foreign semiconductor investment as it seeks to rebuild its once-dominant chip sector. Major global players such as Micron and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. have already committed to expanding in Japan. The government is also funding construction of an advanced logic chip facility utilizing IBM technology.

Demand for HBM has surged alongside rapid growth in artificial intelligence and large-scale data center deployments, prompting major memory manufacturers to accelerate capacity expansion.

Diversifying Production and Competing With SK Hynix

Micron's new Hiroshima fab is expected to help the company diversify production beyond Taiwan and strengthen its competitiveness against industry leader SK Hynix, which currently dominates the HBM market. The expansion underscores intensifying global investment in high-performance memory as AI adoption accelerates worldwide.