Renesas restores pre-earthquake production levels after phased restart

Renesas Electronics, one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers, has begun restoring production at its earthquake-damaged facilities in Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture. The company resumed operations at its Nishiki chip assembly and test facility on the evening of July 29, 2026, just one day after a significant earthquake struck the region on July 28. What happened and what’s still broken The Kumamoto earthquake caused visible structural damage at Renesas facilities, including wall cracks and water leakage at the company’s Kawashiri wafer fabrication plant. The Nishiki facility, which handles assembly and testing, passed safety checks on its clean rooms and was back online within roughly 24 hours. Kawashiri is scheduled for a partial restart on August 5, 2026. Renesas is targeting a return to full pre-earthquake wafer input capacity within approximately three weeks after that partial restart. The broader context: Kumamoto’s semiconductor corridor Kumamoto Prefecture has become one of Japan’s most strategically important semiconductor regions. TSMC opened a major fabrication facility in the prefecture, and the broader area has attracted significant investment as Japan pushes...