A weekly briefingfor Yuki.

TSMC's Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing facility in Kumamoto Prefecture began production of 12nm-class wafers on 11 November, eight months ahead of the original schedule. The fab, 86.5% funded by Japanese government subsidies totalling ¥476 billion, will supply Sony's image sensors, Denso's automotive chips and Kioxia's controller silicon. A second fab at the same site is under construction for 6nm-class production, with first silicon targeted for late 2027. METI minister Akazawa framed the opening as 'the beginning of Japan's re-emergence as a semiconductor manufacturing nation'. The plant will employ 1,700 workers, of whom 400 are being trained at TSMC's Hsinchu campus.

Sony Semiconductor Solutions announced the IMX681 on 13 November, a stacked SPAD (single-photon avalanche diode) LiDAR sensor that achieves 300m range at 30fps in a package smaller than a 500-yen coin. Unlike conventional LiDAR, which sweeps a rotating laser, the IMX681 uses a global shutter array, allowing it to survive the vibration of a walking robot platform — the failure mode that has plagued mechanical LiDAR in ambulatory applications. Partners announced at launch include Agility Robotics and Figure AI. Sony said mass production begins in Q2 2026.

Researchers at Keio University's Department of Otolaryngology published results in Nature Medicine on 12 November showing near-complete restoration of hearing in adult mice with severe sensorineural hearing loss using AAV-mediated delivery of the ATOH1 transcription factor directly to the spiral ganglion. Unlike previous cochlear gene therapy work that targeted hair cells, this approach regenerates the auditory nerve fibres that transmit signals to the brain — the damage pattern seen in presbycusis, noise-induced hearing loss and some cases of sudden deafness. A human safety trial is planned for Q3 2026 in collaboration with Chugai Pharmaceutical.

The Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency granted approval on 10 November for Exscientia's EXS-41166 — an AI-generated small molecule targeting a validated but previously undrugged pocket in the IL-17 receptor — to begin Phase I trials at Keio University Hospital. It is the first drug designed without human medicinal chemist input to reach Japanese clinical trials. Exscientia's platform generated 3.2 million candidate structures, which were filtered computationally to 47 synthesisable candidates; EXS-41166 was selected after biological screening of 22. The company said the discovery timeline from target to IND was 22 months, roughly half the industry average.

Japan's benchmark index closed at 42,380.14 on Friday 14 November, its highest since the February correction, driven by semiconductor-related stocks on the back of TSMC's Kumamoto announcement and continued foreign institutional buying. Tokyo Electron surged 8.2% on the week, Shin-Etsu Chemical 6.1%, and Recruit Holdings 5.4% after a stronger-than-expected Q2 earnings beat in its North American HR tech division. The dollar-yen rate at 155.40 continues to support exporters, though domestic pressure for BOJ action is mounting.