Semiconductor Materials Where Japan Leads
Japanese companies supply about 48% of key semiconductor materials such as silicon wafers, photoresists and photomasks, according to METI. This page shows where each material is used in chipmaking and which Japanese companies make it.
- Japan's share48%
- Company profiles23
Japan's share of key materials
METI's figure covers six product groups: silicon wafers, photoresists, CMP slurries, photomasks, sputtering targets, bonding wires. Japanese suppliers hold roughly half the market, three times the share of the next country, Taiwan.
- Japan 48%
- Taiwan 16%
- South Korea 13%
- Europe, Middle East & Africa 10%
- United States 9%
- China 3%
Where each material is used
Materials enter the process at different points. The diagram follows a chip from the bare wafer to the finished package and shows the Japanese suppliers at each point.
- 01 · Starting waferSilicon wafers
- 02 · PatterningPhotoresists
- 03 · PatterningMask blanks
- 04 · Polishing (CMP)CMP slurries
- 05 · PackagingABF build-up film
- 06 · PackagingPackaging materials
Materials and suppliers
- Silicon wafers
The single-crystal silicon disks every chip is built on.
- Photoresists
Light-sensitive films that record the circuit pattern during exposure.
- Mask blanks
Coated glass substrates from which photomasks, including EUV masks, are made.
- CMP slurries
Abrasive liquids that polish each layer flat before the next one is built.
- ABF build-up film
Insulating film between the wiring layers of package substrates for CPUs and GPUs.
Japanese suppliers: Ajinomoto - Packaging materials
Molding compounds and die-bonding films that protect and attach chips.
Japanese suppliers: Resonac
Why materials matter for supply security
Materials are consumed continuously, so a fab cannot run without a steady supply even if all its tools are installed. This is why Japan treats them as strategic: the state-backed Japan Investment Corporation took JSR private in 2024. For the equipment side, see where Japanese equipment makers lead.
Sources
- METI: Semiconductor and Digital Industry Strategy (July 2023), based on OMDIA data for FY2021
- Shin-Etsu Chemical official website
- SUMCO official website
- JSR official website
- TOK official website
- Resonac official website
- Ajinomoto: Ajinomoto Build-up Film (ABF)
- HOYA Integrated Report 2023: Information Technology
- IBIDEN official website
- Fujitsu: commencement of the tender offer for Shinko shares (Feb 17, 2025)
- Fujifilm: CMP slurry production facility in Kumamoto begins full-scale operation (Jan 25, 2024)
- Sumitomo Chemical official website
- AGC: decision to expand EUVL mask blank capacity (Jan 25, 2022)
- Mitsui Chemicals: commencement of commercial production of EUV pellicles (May 26, 2021)
- Ferrotec product catalog 2024 (PDF)
- DNP: official website
- Kyocera: official website
- LINTEC: official website
- Mitsui High-tec: official website
- Nitta DuPont: official website
- Nitto Denko: official website
- Taiyo Nippon Sanso: official website
- Tokuyama: official website
- VALQUA: official website
Related calculators
Japan's semiconductor industry in numbers
Japanese materials suppliers
Last updated: October 22, 2026