A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima, Japan, at around 11:36 PM on the 16th, temporarily halting operations at global semiconductor factories.

Even global automotive semiconductor company Renesas and 3D NAND flash powerhouse Kioxia could not escape the earthquake.

Renesas operates the Naka, Takasaki, and Yonezawa factories near the epicenter.

On the 17th, Renesas announced that it had temporarily suspended operations at its Naka and Takasaki factories immediately after the earthquake, and that it had also suspended operations at its Yonezawa factory.

Investigations were conducted at all three factories, and on the 18th, Renesas announced on its website that there were no problems with operations.

The Naka and Takasaki plants immediately restarted equipment and resumed production on the 17th, and are expected to reach their maximum pre-earthquake production levels on the 23rd.

Production at the Yonezawa factory resumed at all plants on the 18th and reached pre-earthquake production levels on the 20th.

Following disruptions in NAND flash production caused by raw material contamination last month, Kioxia has halted factory operations due to the earthquake, making a decrease in NAND flash production appear inevitable.

TrendForce announced that Kioxia's K1 NAND flash plant in Iwate Prefecture has suspended operations due to the impact of the earthquake. With aftershocks expected for the time being, the gradual restart of Kioxia's factory is expected to take place next week.

There is no significant change in price.

Since prices rose last month due to Kioxia's raw material contamination, no particular signs have been observed, and prices have remained stable even after the Fukushima earthquake.