Japan’s production of nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) – a key chamber-cleaning gas used in the manufacture of semiconductors, flat-panel displays, and solar cells – is entering a phase of contraction amid shifting global supply dynamics, according to Japan-published newsletter The Gas Review.
In May 2025, Mitsui Chemicals announced plans to withdraw from the NF3 business, citing declining profitability and rising operational costs. Production at its subsidiary, Shimonoseki Mitsui Chemicals, will cease at the end of March 2026, with sales to end later that year.
The company highlighted increased energy and logistics costs, container investments, and a tightening labour market among the main pressures affecting the business.
The decision follows Central Glass’s withdrawal from NF3 production in 2018 and leaves Kanto Denka Kogyo as Japan’s sole remaining producer. Kanto Denka Kogyo accounts for roughly 90% of the country’s NF3 output, which has previously been estimated at between 10,000 and 12,000 tonnes per year.
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