Tokyo Electron investments help Japan's Silicon Road reclaim glory

SENDAI, Japan -- Japanese chipmaking equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron is making big capital investments in Japan's northeast, a region once known as the "Silicon Road," as the company works to hone mass-production technology several generations away.

Related suppliers are also setting up shop in nearby industrial parks, creating a Tokyo Electron supply chain sphere in the Tohoku region seeking to reclaim its past glory as a semiconductor hub.