As Kioxia advances large-scale investments anticipating the expansion of memory demand in the AI era, former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s visit to its flagship factory has once again highlighted the importance of supporting Japan’s semiconductor industry.
I visited the Kioxia Yokkaichi factory. … pic.twitter.com/9NBw6nraWR— Shigeru Ishiba (@shigeruishiba) June 1, 2026
🟧 Kioxia to invest over 450 billion yen in fiscal 2026—Former Prime Minister Ishiba inspects Yokkaichi plant, highlighting continued support for memory semiconductors in Japan
Kioxia plans to invest over 450 billion yen in capital expenditures in fiscal 2026, driven by expanding demand for AI. Amidst this situation, former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba visited the Yokkaichi Factory, the main hub, and inspected the state-of-the-art manufacturing site. After the visit, he mentioned the need for continued semiconductor support from the Japanese government.
- Plans to invest over 450 billion yen in capital investment in fiscal 2026 and promote increased production of AI-oriented NAND flash memory
- The government has received a total of approximately 250 billion yen in subsidy support, raising expectations for further subsidies and tax incentives.
- At the Kitakami plant in Iwate Prefecture, plans have been announced to produce 8th and 10th generation NAND in parallel.
NAND flash memory is a core component of storage for SSDs and data centers. With the spread of generative AI, GPUs and HBM are gaining attention, but the storage that stores the vast amounts of data they handle has also become an equally important presence.
🟧Expanding storage demand in the AI era and competition for national support are driving investment.
The background to this announcement is the rapid expansion of the AI market and the competition among countries to support the semiconductor industry. Currently, in South Korea, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are receiving tax incentives and R&D support. In Taiwan, TSMC is also receiving support as a core part of its national strategy, and China continues large-scale investments utilizing state funds.
In this context, the Japanese government is also advancing support for Rapidus and TSMC’s Kumamoto factory, and memory companies like Kioxia are also crucial for supporting Japan’s semiconductor competitiveness. Former Prime Minister Ishiba’s assessment that “our technological capabilities are on par with the world” can be seen as an important message for continuing support going forward.
Another interesting point is that President Ota said, “We pursue profit over share.” The NAND market has repeatedly experienced price crashes in the past due to overinvestment. Kioxia is adopting a strategy focused on profitability centered on high-performance, low-power products, rather than competing to expand market share. This aligns with recent trends in the semiconductor industry as a whole.
🟧 Conclusion
Kioxia is anticipating the expansion of storage demand in the AI era and plans to invest over 450 billion yen in capital expenditures in fiscal year 2026. In particular, focused investments in the Kitakami factory and the establishment of a next-generation NAND mass production system are at the core of the company’s medium- to long-term growth strategy.
Going forward, the importance of not only GPUs and HBMs but also SSDs and storage NAND supporting them will grow even further, and Kioxia’s presence is expected to grow even further.
