According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, at 16:43 local time on August 8th (15:43 Beijing time), a 7.1 magnitude earthquake occurred in the waters near Miyazaki Prefecture, located at the southeastern end of Kyushu Island, Japan. The epicenter of the earthquake was located at 31.8 degrees north latitude and 131.7 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 30 kilometers.
After the earthquake, as of 19:04 local time on August 8th, there were a total of 5 aftershocks ranging from magnitude 3.4 to 4.6 in the waters near Miyazaki Prefecture. The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned that there may be a large-scale earthquake in the coming week, with at least 12 people known to have been injured and 2 houses collapsed.
According to news reports, the overall disaster caused by this earthquake is not too severe.
Kyushu Island is known as the "Silicon Island" of Japan, and the market is generally concerned that this earthquake may have an impact on chip production. However, there is currently no news of serious damage to semiconductor manufacturers.
TSMC has issued a statement stating that the Kumamoto plant is not in serious condition and that the earthquake intensity did not meet evacuation standards, which is not expected to have an impact on operations.
Rom has suspended the operation of its Miyazaki factory for inspection, and there have been no major damages so far. A representative of the company said, "Once safety is confirmed, we will immediately resume operations
Asahi Kasei stated that it has not suffered any losses, and an employee of the company said, "We are reassured." They also said, "We will continue to act cautiously
In addition, this earthquake did not trigger a tsunami, and the Japan Meteorological Agency has lifted all tsunami warnings.
Kyushu Island has multiple semiconductor hubs such as Kumamoto, Miyazaki, and Fukuoka.
Kumamoto Prefecture has numerous production bases for well-known semiconductor companies, including foundry leader TSMC, image sensor giant Sony, equipment manufacturer TEPCO Electronics, and silicon wafer production companies Shinetsu Chemical and Shenggao. According to data from the Kyushu Economic, Trade and Industry Bureau, there were a total of 100 semiconductor related investment projects in Kyushu from April 2021 to June 2024, with Kumamoto Prefecture leading 52 projects.
Miyazaki Prefecture, where the earthquake was most pronounced, is a gathering place for power semiconductor companies. ROHM has announced an investment of over 300 billion yen to build factories in this area.
Fukuoka Prefecture has Hitachi, which has the world's second largest market share in semiconductor packaging materials, as well as comprehensive semiconductor material production companies such as Asahi Kasei, Sumitomo Chemical, Showa Electric, and semiconductor ultrapure water equipment production company Toray.
It can be said that the semiconductor industry in Kyushu Island plays an important role in the semiconductor industry chain in Japan and even globally. Its semiconductor output value has long accounted for 40-50% of Japan's total output value. According to new data from November 2023, the semiconductor output value in this region accounts for as much as 56.3% of Japan's total output value.
It is worth noting that the epicenter of this earthquake is located in the "South China Sea Trough". The Japan Meteorological Agency has released the "Temporary Information on Earthquakes in the South China Sea Trough (Attention to Major Earthquakes)" for this purpose, which is the first time this information has been released since its official launch in 2019. The Japan Meteorological Agency further convened an expert meeting to assess whether this earthquake is related to the massive earthquake in the South China Sea trough.
The South China Sea Trough is located on the edge of the convergence of the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate, and is one of the subduction zones with frequent major earthquakes. It has always been regarded as a potential major threat.
The yellow part represents the possible range of predicted earthquakes in the South China Sea trough
According to the official website of the Japan Meteorological Agency, the South China Sea Trough earthquake is a large-scale earthquake of magnitude 8 that occurs every 100 to 200 years at the plate boundary between Hinata Beach on Kyushu Island and Suruga Bay in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. And the probability of an 8-9 magnitude earthquake occurring in this region within the next 30 years is 70% to 80%.
The Japanese government conducted a prediction in 2019 that if a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8 to 9 occurred in the South China Sea trough, it was expected to affect a wide area from Shizuoka Prefecture to Kyushu Island, and could trigger a huge tsunami up to 30 meters high, posing a great threat to coastal areas. It is estimated that it could cause up to 231000 deaths and more than 2.09 million buildings destroyed, surpassing the deadliest earthquake in post-war Japan, the 311 East Japan earthquake. On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami, resulting in a direct death toll of 15900 people. As of now, more than 2000 people are still missing.