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Policy Watch

Japan ties ¥3.9bn semiconductor subsidy to 6.2% annual pay rises at Asahi Yukizai

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry capped its growth-investment subsidy for Asahi Yukizai's ¥11.81bn semiconductor-valve project at ¥3.9bn, conditional on the company lifting employee pay by 6.2% a year from the year the new production equipment begins operating in 2029 through 2032.

Small precision valves for semiconductor manufacturing equipment arranged on an industrial workbench.

Asahi Yukizai Corporation, the Tokyo-listed chemicals and industrial-materials maker (TSE: 4216), has won government backing for an ¥11.81bn project to develop, produce and sell precision valves for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, built on flow-control and low-particle-generation technology. The award comes under Japan's Large-Scale Growth Investment Subsidy for Productivity Improvement and Wage Increases at SMEs, run by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and was disclosed in a filing dated September 18, 2026.

The subsidy cap is ¥3.9bn against total project costs of ¥11.81bn. That figure is not fixed: the company said the actual grant could change depending on investment results during the project period, how funds are allocated, and inspections carried out after the work is complete.

The grant carries a wage condition. Asahi Yukizai has committed to raising average total pay per employee working on the subsidized business by 6.2% a year, starting in the fiscal year ending March 2029, when the new production equipment begins operating, and running through the fiscal year ending March 2032. Because the production equipment will not begin operating until then, the company says the subsidy has no effect on current-period earnings, and it will disclose promptly if that assessment changes.