TOKYO (Reuters) -Sony Group Corp said on Thursday its chip business would buy land in the western Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto.

Local media reported in December the tech and entertainment conglomerate is considering building a factory in Kumamoto to make smartphone image sensors.

($1 = 135.0500 yen)

(Reporting by Miho Uranaka and Sam Nussey; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Christopher Cushing)