Major Japanese semiconductor makers are planning to keep their plants open during the summer holidays to take advantage of growing demand across the world as companies update their information technology facilities, according to officials of the companies.

NEC Corp., Fujitsu Ltd., Toshiba Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. all canceled or shortened holidays at their plants, altering workers' holidays.

In 2000, semiconductor sales in Japan are expected to grow 23.8 percent from a year earlier to 4.6 trillion yen, and 30.6 percent worldwide, according to the Japan unit of the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics.

NEC said it will keep its plants operating in Yamagata and Shiga prefectures during the planned Aug. 11-17 holiday period to cover shortages in microcomputer, system LSI (large-scale integrated circuit) and other chips.

NEC said it will also shorten the planned five-day holiday to three days at its plant in Kumamoto, company officials said.

The Fujitsu group will cancel planned five- or six-day holidays in mid-August at plants that manufacture liquid-crystal display devices and plasma display panels, as well as at its semiconductor plants in Iwate, Fukushima and Mie prefectures, company officials said.

Toshiba canceled summer holidays planned for this week and Aug. 12-15 at its plant that manufactures IC chips for optical communications in Kitakyushu, officials said.

Summer holidays will also be canceled at Toshiba factories in Mie, Oita and Hyogo prefectures, officials said.

Mitsubishi Electric officials said holidays will be canceled at plants that make flash-memory chips in Kumamoto Prefecture, system LSI chips in Ehime Prefecture and microcomputer chips in Kochi Prefecture.