Under pledge to U.S., Japan’s chip investment divided between home and abroad

Japan will invest up to $21 billion to build two chip factories in New York state, under a deal announced last week by GlobalFoundries. | REUTERS

Oct 20, 2026

Japan is in the midst of a major push to revive its chip sector, but its latest investments show how Tokyo is being pulled into helping the U.S. build up its own semiconductor industry.

Japan will invest up to $21 billion to build two chip factories in New York state under a deal announced last week by GlobalFoundries, which is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala Investment.

It is part of a pledge to invest $550 billion in the U.S., made with the Trump administration in return for lower tariffs. Under that deal, the U.S. president — not Japan — gets to select the projects.

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