Japan's state-backed chip venture Rapidus, tasked with boosting the country's competitiveness in advanced semiconductors, is considering building a chip factory in Hokkaido, TV Tokyo reported Wednesday.
Rapidus will likely make a formal decision on a new factory site as early as later this month, according to the report. Chitose, a city of approximately 100,000 people, is reportedly a potential location.
A spokesperson of the chip venture confirmed Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki will visit its headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday to propose building the plant in his prefecture, but that nothing had been decided on plant location.
A Hokkaido official said no preliminary talks had taken place between the local government and Rapidus on the new plant ahead of the governor's visit.
No one was immediately available for comment at Chitose City Hall.
Japan has said it will invest an initial ¥70 billion ($525 million) in Rapidus, a venture led by tech firms including Sony Group and NEC.
Rapidus said earlier this month that it would need about ¥7 trillion ($54 billion) of mostly taxpayer money to begin mass producing advanced logic chips in around 2027.