Cui Taiyuan personally went to Miyagi, Japan to inspect the factory site. SK hynix plans to build a memory fab in Japan with an investment of tens of trillions of won. This is neither abandoning the U.S. for Japan nor replacing domestic investment—R&D and domestic factory plans, including a combined total of 5.4 trillion won for Yongin Y2 and Cheongju M17, will continue as scheduled. The Miyagi plant is incremental capacity, an overseas foothold, and a single move that delivers three benefits. The first layer of logic is capacity. During the global memory shortage cycle, HBM capacity is constrained by TSV packaging and yield. Japan’s accumulation in materials and precision equipment can precisely make up the weak spots. Miyagi Prefecture is one of Japan’s three major semiconductor industry clusters officially designated by the government, and subsidies and supporting infrastructure are readily available. The second layer of logic is geopolitical hedging. The U.S. is putting pressure on Korean companies to build factories in the U.S. The Seoul Economic Daily noted that building a wafer fab costs between 150 trillion and 200 trillion won, and without government support it simply can’t be pushed through. By placing its bet in Japan first, SK hynix gains negotiating leverage with the U.S.: if you want me to go to the U.S., you have to offer better terms. The third layer of logic is political maneuvering. In South Korea, there are sensitive sentiments toward investing in Japan for semiconductors, but SK hynix is neither the first company nor the last. Once the Miyagi plant is built, it will be the third foreign semiconductor company to set up a facility in Japan after Micron and TSMC. Samsung currently only has a packaging and R&D center in Yokohama. Who is harmed by this move? Samsung. The Japanese government’s resources are limited; by supporting SK hynix, it will become even more selective about any future Japanese investment by Samsung. Who benefits? Japanese semiconductor equipment and materials suppliers—because once SK hynix builds the plant, it translates into long-term procurement contracts. The next step is to wait for three
signals: SK hynix’s official confirmation of the investment amount and construction start date; reactions from the U.S. Department of Commerce or Congress—whether they apply pressure or offer incentives; and whether HBM supply data in the second half of 2026 will accelerate ramp-up due to synergy with the Japanese plant.