Taiwan's representative to Japan, Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋), said TSMC’s U.S. production facilities remain about two and a half years behind those in Taiwan, emphasizing that Taiwan continues to hold clear technological advantages and secure core competencies.

The Taiwan-Japan Semiconductor Alliance Seminar, organized by Japan’s Institute for National Fundamentals (JINF), opened Tuesday in Tokyo. The event gathered representatives from Japan’s political, industrial, and academic sectors to discuss the strategic significance of Taiwan-Japan cooperation in the semiconductor supply chain. Attendees at Monday’s welcome dinner included Lee, former Economic Affairs Minister Wang Mei-hua (王美花), Indo-Pacific Strategic Think Tank CEO Akio Yaita, JINF Chairwoman Yoshiko Sakurai, and lawmaker Koichi Hagiuda.

Lee said the U.S. proposal to divide TSMC’s production “50-50” between Taiwan and the United States had drawn widespread attention, even sparking false claims that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will become American Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. In reality, he said, TSMC’s U.S. plants can currently mass-produce 4-nanometer and 3-nanometer chips, with 2-nanometer production not expected until late 2027.

By contrast, Taiwan began mass production of 2-nanometer chips this year and plans to start producing 1.4-nanometer chips in 2028. Lee noted that TSMC’s R&D headquarters in Taiwan employs more than 8,000 researchers and remains the world’s largest semiconductor research hub. He said Taiwan’s new fabs in Taichung, Hsinchu, and Kaohsiung underscore its continued leadership and the security of its core semiconductor know-how.