{"id":175977,"date":"2026-02-10T14:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T05:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=175977&#038;lang=en"},"modified":"2026-02-10T14:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T05:00:18","slug":"kumamoto-sets-record-budget-with-semiconductor-focus","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/news\/kumamoto-sets-record-budget-with-semiconductor-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"Kumamoto Sets Record Budget With Semiconductor Focus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Kumamoto City released its fiscal 2026 budget proposal on February 9, with the general account reaching a record \u00a5437.8 billion, up 4.4% from the previous year. Spending on semiconductor-related initiatives will rise to \u00a51.26 billion, reflecting preparations linked to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.\u2019s planned second factory in the prefecture. Measures include overseas business promotion, support for local suppliers, and expanded services for foreign residents such as Japanese-language classes and multilingual community materials. Funding for the troubled Kumamoto streetcar system nearly doubled to cover operating subsidies and equipment upgrades, while plans to end nationwide IC card payments were reversed. Municipal tax revenue is expected to rise 4.9%, with increased bond issuance to finance spending. <strong>Source<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.city.kumamoto.jp\/sicho\/kiji00369240\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">Kumamoto City<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/fnn_kumamoto-mayor-press-conference_2026_cl.jpg?resize=1400%2C784&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1400\" height=\"784\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-175978\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/fnn_kumamoto-mayor-press-conference_2026_cl.jpg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/fnn_kumamoto-mayor-press-conference_2026_cl.jpg?resize=300%2C168&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/fnn_kumamoto-mayor-press-conference_2026_cl.jpg?resize=1024%2C573&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/fnn_kumamoto-mayor-press-conference_2026_cl.jpg?resize=768%2C430&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/>Photo: Kumamoto City<\/p>\n<p>Stay informed with the latest Fukuoka &#038; Kyushu news and events in English. Sign up for our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\">free weekly newsletter<\/a> today and never miss a beat. Opt out anytime, your privacy is our priority. Get the inside scoop with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\">The Now<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Summaries based on public content, errors may occur during translation. Images credited independently. Send feedback using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/contact\/\">this <strong>form<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kumamoto City released its fiscal 2026 budget proposal on February 9, with the general account reaching a record \u00a5437.8 billion&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30292,"featured_media":175978,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-175977","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-kumamoto-city","news-category-politics","en-US"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/175977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175977"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}