Various Japanese semiconductor makers has decided to operate during the coming summer vacations to meet strong demand for chips used in flat-panel televisions, smartphones and car electronics. Renesas Electronics has decided to operate its 10 factories across Japan during summer break, originally planned for Aug. 7 to 15.Toshiba also will cancel the Aug. 12-16 break at four factories, including one in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, which produces NAND flash memory chips for use in cellphones and memory cards. Fujitsu and Elpida Memory will also basically follow such moves. But a Fujitsu official said the current strong demand does not warrant unreserved optimism.
The strong demand “has stemmed partially from various countries’ fiscal measures to spur personal consumption,” such as Japan’s eco-point incentive system for spurring purchases of environmentally friendly consumer electronics.
