Japan chip industry gets back to work after Kumamoto quake

SemiconductorsTokyo Electron and Renesas resume some operations but Sony and TSMC need more timeRenesas Electronics and Tokyo Electron are recovering from the July 28 Kumamoto earthquake. (Source photos by Shotaro Mori)Nikkei staff writersJuly 31, 2026 06:37 JSTKUMAMOTO, Japan/TOKYO -- Japanese chip industry facilities affected by the earthquake that rocked the Kumamoto area on Tuesday are already beginning to restart one by one, as quake-resistant construction and other lessons learned from past disasters prove useful.