William While Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation’s (TSMC) expansion into Kumamoto (it’s also been twined with their expansion into Arizona - this article is a good primer on the type of business they do: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/06/business/tsmc-arizona-investment/index.html that expansion has not been without sacrifice. Previously noted has been water. Semiconductor manufacturing is a notoriously water-intensive business and likely one reason why Kumamoto was chosen: the company is expected to use 1.2 million tons of water per day, and while much of that can be expected to be recycled, it will likely put a dent in our prefecture’s abundant aquifers. More about that here: https://kumanichi.com/articles/730090 Today, Kumanichi reports on TSMC-dependent supplier expansion into agricultural land surrounding the now-under-construction plant. The area around the plant is mostly used for dryland crops such as barley - ironically, due to lack of surface waterflow (though artisanal water is abundant, it is expensive to pump for paddy farming). Change is difficult, and seeing that swath of beautiful farmland changed to industrial park will be felt as a loss for some - though not for the 3,000+ the facilities are expected to employee. More here (pictured: likely soon-to-vanish Kikuyo grain silo): Yahoo!https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/120bb294a59c1f6de3245d5a2fa78f6800115d13