October 30, 2026 / SemiMedia / — Japanese semiconductor equipment billings reached a record ¥629.04 billion in September 2026, up 48.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan. The figure includes exports and is reported as a three month moving average.

The monthly indicator exceeded ¥600 billion for the first time, rising 5.2 percent from August’s ¥597.915 billion. September marked the ninth consecutive month of annual growth and the seventh consecutive month of double digit gains.

The increase comes as AI infrastructure investment supports demand for advanced logic and memory manufacturing equipment. In its July forecast, SEAJ raised its fiscal 2026 equipment sales projection to ¥6.5502 trillion, up 26 percent from the previous fiscal year.

That annual forecast covers sales by Japanese equipment companies in Japan and overseas for the year ending March 2027. The revision added ¥1.0498 trillion to the association’s January estimate, reflecting investment in advanced logic for AI servers and DRAM, particularly high bandwidth memory.

Equipment supplier DISCO also reported record shipments of ¥148.6 billion for July through September. It forecasts shipments of ¥149.6 billion for October through December, which would set another quarterly record.