A worker checks a chip product at a factory in the Sihong Economic Development Zone in Sihong county, East China's Jiangsu Province on Monday. At present, Sihong county has formed electronic information, new materials, mechanical and electrical equipment and other leading industry development clusters. Photo: VCG

 
A 6.6-magnitude earthquake that hit Oita city in southern Japan which is home to numerous global chipmakers and leading brands such as Toshiba has led to widespread suspension of production. This will affect the supply of upstream chip materials to China, industry insiders said, adding to the problems experienced amid the ongoing global chip shortage.

"The earthquake will weigh on the Chinese semiconductor chain as China sources most of the necessary materials for chip production - such as silicon wafer, high-purity gas and sulfuric acid - from Japan," a senior industry insider told the Global Times on Wednesday on condition of anonymity. 

He noted that that in terms of quality and output of the raw materials, Japanese factories have an irreplaceable role in the industrial chain and it is very difficult for Chinese raw material firms to fill up the gap in the short term. 

"If the relevant firms in Japan cannot resume production soon, the impact will also be felt globally," the insider said. 
On Wednesday, Toshiba announced that it had partially restarted a production line at a semiconductor plant in Oita after halting over the weekend. The company confirmed that there was some damage to its production lines and it is not clear when the other line will open. 

The plant in Oita makes chips that are used in auto and machine making, according to a Reuters report.

Known as the Silicon Valley of Japan, Oita is home to over 1,000 tech firms including semiconductor manufacturers, equipment makers, material suppliers and wafer plants such as Sony, Renesas Electronics, NEC, Mitsubishi Electric, and Texas Instruments, according to media reports. TSMC also plans to build its first Japanese chip plant, in the form of a joint venture with Sony, in Oita.