Japan Component Watch @JapanCompWatch

Issue 3: Japan's AI boom shows up in circuit boards, not capacitors. METI data: Jan-Jul board output +32.7% in value; ceramic capacitors -5.8% on 20% more pieces. Rasa, DKS, MEC time new plants for 2028. Suzuden Sept sales +69%. japancomponentwatch.substack.com/p/japans-ai-bo…

@StockMKTNewz The supply base is still being built next to the Taiwan fabs, too. On Sep 30, Japan's Rasa Industries approved a second plant in Taichung for chip-grade phosphoric acid (a wet etchant), about NT$3.8bn, due in FY2028. Its Taiwan unit's sales roughly doubled in five years.

Mitachi (3321), a Nagoya chip and parts distributor with 76% of sales in autos, cut inventory 10% to ¥18.3bn in Jun-Aug while sales rose 13.9% to ¥31.6bn. Chip sales grew 8.7%, other components 35%. It also repaid ¥2.4bn of short-term debt. (Japanese-only filing)

@jukan05 Same METI data, one level down: 10+ layer rigid boards rose 39% by area in Jan-Jul 2026, while their value per m² stayed flat at about ¥343k (6-8 layer: +3.7%). So much of the jump in the average looks like mix shifting to high-layer boards, not price hikes.

@wallstengine One read from Japan's parts side: Suzuden, a Tokyo distributor of factory-automation parts, reported September sales up 69% y/y today. Its outlook names AI-chip demand and further leading-edge memory investment as the drivers.

Suzuden (7480), a Japanese distributor of factory-automation and electrical parts, sold ¥6.16bn in September, up 69% y/y. H1 parent-only sales rose 55% to ¥32.7bn, above its ¥31.2bn H1 group forecast. It cites AI-chip demand and memory investment. (Japanese-only monthly filing)

@ResearchSOIC One layer further up: MEC (4971), a Japanese maker of process chemicals that says it holds a high share in package-substrate manufacturing, today added a ~¥2.0bn second phase to its new Kitakyushu plant. Phase 1 has not started yet; it is due in Dec 2026.

@jukan05 Suppliers are still adding capacity in Taiwan too. Japan's Rasa Industries approved a second plant in Taichung today for high-purity phosphoric acid, a wet etchant: ~NT$3.8bn, due FY2028. Its Taiwan unit's sales grew 2.1x from 2020 to 2025, to NT$2.59bn. (Japanese-only filing)

Rasa Industries (4022) will build a second Taiwan plant for chip-grade phosphoric acid, a wet etchant: ~NT$3.8bn (¥18.8bn), about 4.8x its group capex last fiscal year (our calc). Its Taiwan unit's sales grew 2.1x in five years to NT$2.59bn. Due FY2028. (Japanese-only filing)

@trendforce On the MLCC line of the radar, Japan's official data show volume running ahead of value: ceramic capacitor output was 122.9bn pieces in July, up 24.5% y/y, while production value rose only 2.2%. Jan-Jul: pieces +20.2%, value -5.8% (our calc from METI tables).

@jukan05 Same day in Japan: Taiyo Yuden and TDK signed an MOU to co-develop MLCCs and inductors for AI data centers and to cooperate on manufacturing and procurement. Japan's own ceramic capacitor output hit 122.9bn pieces in July, up 24.5% y/y (METI production data).

Japan made 122.9bn ceramic capacitors in July, up 24.5% y/y, its highest month since at least Jan 2025 (METI data). Output value rose just 2.2%. Today Taiyo Yuden and TDK signed an MOU to co-develop MLCCs and inductors for AI data centers and team up on production and sourcing.

Jukan @jukan05

7 days ago

The MLCC supply situation is worsening 👀

14 45 490 79K 167

@huihoo One data point on packaging demand from Japan: AI Mechatec's temporary bonder/debonder orders announced since August come to ~¥9.5bn, about a quarter of its FY6/28 semiconductor sales plan of ¥38.8bn.

@india_plus_ Japanese tool makers are following the buildout. Optorun, which makes optical thin-film coating equipment, set up a Chennai subsidiary this month (INR170m capital) for service and sales, and says it may later make tools and parts there.

@jukan05 The back end is being booked early too. Japan's AI Mechatec has now announced ~¥9.5bn of wafer bonder/debonder orders (for thinning and stacking) since August, all scheduled for revenue in its year to June 2028.

Issue 2: Japan's niche chip suppliers are already booking 2028. AI Mechatec: ~¥9.5bn of packaging-tool orders for FY6/28. Asahi Yukizai: tripling chip-valve capacity. Nippon Chemi-Con: £92.7m Dyson judgment. Plus a Japanese-only subsidy list. japancomponentwatch.substack.com/p/japans-niche…

AI Mechatec (6227) booked ~¥4.5bn of wafer bonder/debonder orders today from two overseas chipmakers, all for FY6/28 revenue. With August's ~¥5.0bn, that is ~¥9.5bn, 24.5% of its FY6/28 chip-segment sales plan (our calc). Packaging tools are booked early. (Japanese-only filing)

Okamoto Glass (7746) doubled its glass-polarizer capex plan to ¥600m through FY3/28 and added a second site at its Niigata unit. Target: monthly output 16x the July 2026 level (old plan: 3x capacity). The pull is optical transceivers: it is in design-in, with module tests to Dec 2026.