Japan Halts Photoresist Supply to China: Can Domestic Alternatives Step Up?

By the end of June 2026, Japan's four major photoresist giants—Tokyo Ohka Kogyo, JSR, Shin-Etsu Chemical, and Fujifilm Electronic Materials—simultaneously halted supply to China, ceasing acceptance of new orders for ArF and EUV photoresists, significantly reducing new orders for KrF photoresists, and withdrawing their on-site technical teams in China. Customs data shows that in the first quarter of 2026, China imported only 111.3 tons of photoresist from Japan, a year-on-year plunge of 95%, with imports falling to zero in February. This move directly impacts China's semiconductor manufacturing sector, and the process of domestic photoresist substitution faces a severe test.