Japan is planning a major expansion of its artificial intelligence infrastructure, with a proposed investment of up to $140bn to develop data centres and gas-fired power facilities over the next five years.
The initiative is being led by a partnership involving US technology company Dell, Japanese energy giant Jera and UK-based AI infrastructure provider Rhaetian, with the partners targeting between three and four gigawatts of AI data centre and power capacity.
The plan was unveiled alongside an agreement to develop a $15bn data centre and power facility in Chiba, near Tokyo.
The 400-megawatt project, which will be financed by Apollo, is expected to begin operations around 2028 and will operate independently of Japan’s national electricity grid.
Jera Chief Executive Officer Yukio Kani said the partnership would focus on accelerating the construction of data centres and ensuring that adequate power is available to support the rapidly growing demand for AI computing.
“The keyword is speed to power,” Kani said, pointing to Jera’s annual liquefied natural gas trading portfolio of about 35 million tonnes as a potential source of fuel for power generation.
Kani estimated that developing one gigawatt of data centre and associated power capacity could cost between $35bn and $45bn, putting the potential investment for three to four gigawatts at about $140bn.
The companies plan to standardise the design and construction of data centres and power infrastructure in an effort to reduce costs and shorten development timelines.
The partners are also considering expanding the model beyond Japan to other markets.
The planned Chiba facility is part of Japan’s broader effort to strengthen its position in the global AI infrastructure race and narrow the gap with the United States and China.
Japan already hosts major data centre operators, including NTT Data and SoftBank, while Blackstone has announced plans for a $30bn investment programme in the country’s data centre sector.
Despite these developments, Japan’s data centre capacity remains significantly below that of the US and China.
An International Data Center Authority report cited in the report estimated that US data centres consume about 29.2 gigawatts of electricity, representing 43 per cent of global data centre consumption. China accounted for 8.5 gigawatts, while Japan had about 1.7 gigawatts.
The Japanese government is targeting ¥32.7tn, equivalent to about $206bn, in public and private investment in cloud computing and data centre infrastructure by 2035.
The investment forms part of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s strategy to direct capital towards sectors considered strategically important to Japan’s economy and technological development.
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