In 1999, Motorola planned to make its Sendai semiconductor operation the anchor of an integrated Asian “mega site,” bringing planning, chip design and production together. The proposal followed Motorola’s agreement to buy Toshiba’s half of the Tohoku Semiconductor joint venture. The plan was ambitious, but the later history diverged: Motorola took full ownership by the end of 2000, and the 8-inch fab closed in 2002 before its transfer to Fujifilm in 2003.
What was Tohoku Semiconductor?
Tohoku Semiconductor (TSC) was a Toshiba-Motorola joint venture established in 1987 in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Production began in May 1988. The partnership combined Toshiba memory technology with Motorola logic technology, and its product range included DRAMs, microprocessors, microcontrollers and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Toshiba’s 1995 company outline listed about 1,500 employees and monthly capacity of 9 million chips across DRAMs and microprocessors.
The Sendai operation developed over time. Motorola established an assembly plant there in 1991 and a design research and development center in 1995. Toshiba’s 1995 announcement of a new 16M-DRAM facility gives a sense of the scale and technology of TSC’s earlier expansion.
| 1995 facility detail | What Toshiba reported |
|---|---|
| Investment | 60 billion yen, approximately US$612 million, over three years for land, construction and equipment. |
| Wafer size and process | 8-inch wafers using a 0.5-micron process. |
| Initial scheduled output | 400,000 16M-DRAM chips per month. |
| Stated full capacity | 3 million 16M-DRAM chips per month. |
These are figures for the 1995 DRAM expansion, not the separate 1999 upgrade proposal.
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Why did Motorola want a megasite in Sendai?
Motorola’s idea was to concentrate semiconductor planning, design, fabrication and assembly in one place, rather than treat Sendai simply as a factory near customers. In a November 17, 1999 EE Times report, Motorola Japan executive vice president Motohiro Kitajima explained the shift: “In the past, to locate near the customers was important. But in the era of system-on-chip, it becomes more important for us to integrate all resources that we have into one place.”
System-on-chip (SoC) development brings multiple functions onto a single chip. Motorola’s stated reasoning was that coordinating its internal design and production resources mattered more as that work became central. Kitajima described the geographic focus as a Japanese-market strategy: “Concentrating semiconductor operations in Sendai city north of Tokyo is Motorola’s strategy for the Japanese market.” The megasite was therefore an organizational plan as well as a physical concentration of facilities.
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How was the Toshiba-Motorola deal structured?
TSC began as a 50-50 joint venture. In September 1999, Toshiba and Motorola agreed that Toshiba would sell its 50% stake when the joint-venture contract expired. The proposed ownership change was the basis for Motorola’s plan to make the Sendai operation a wholly controlled center.
Motorola executive Katsuhiro Kawabuchi, then TSC’s president and chief executive, said preparations had begun ahead of the change: “Fourteen months ‘before TSC becomes a 100% Motorola subsidiary, we’ve started preparations, using this period so that TSC can contribute to Motorola’s semiconductor business.” The wording reflects the transition being prepared, not a claim that the megasite plan was already complete.
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What did the 1999 upgrade plan include?
The November 1999 plan called for about $190 million to upgrade TSC’s 8-inch production line from 0.5-micron to 0.3-micron processing. The target capacity was near 20,000 wafers per month. These were planned upgrade and capacity figures reported at the time, not evidence that the target was ultimately reached.
The plan’s intended business mix also changed with ownership. TSC’s joint-venture-era portfolio included DRAMs, microprocessors, microcontrollers and ASICs. After the takeover, Japan’s investment agency JETRO listed general-purpose microcontrollers (MCUs), flash MCUs and digital signal processors (DSPs) among Motorola’s planned output at TSC.
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What happened after Motorola took full ownership?
JETRO recorded Motorola’s 100% takeover of TSC at the end of 2000. But the integrated-site vision did not remain intact. According to EE Times’ June 2003 follow-up, the 8-inch plant ended operations in December 2002, and the fab was transferred to Fujifilm Microdevices. Production on 8-inch wafers had shifted to Tianjin, while the Sendai 6-inch line continued making automotive devices.
| Area | 1999 megasite plan | Reported later outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Toshiba and Motorola agreed Toshiba would sell its 50% TSC stake when the joint-venture contract expired. | JETRO recorded Motorola’s 100% takeover at the end of 2000. |
| Scope | Integrate planning, design and production in Sendai. | The 8-inch fab went to Fujifilm Microdevices; 6-inch automotive production continued in Sendai. |
| 8-inch technology and production | Planned upgrade from 0.5-micron to 0.3-micron processing, with capacity near 20,000 wafers per month. | The 8-inch plant terminated operations in December 2002, and production had shifted to Tianjin by the June 2003 report. |
| Product emphasis | TSC made DRAMs, microprocessors, microcontrollers and ASICs. | JETRO listed general-purpose MCUs, flash MCUs and DSPs among Motorola’s planned output. |
The sources establish the historical closure and transfer, but do not establish who legally owns the Sendai site today or how it is currently used.
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