Japan plans $60B investment in data centers as it races to become global AI infrastructure leader

Japan is betting big on becoming one of the world’s premier destinations for AI compute. A Nikkei survey of 26 major Japanese data center operators found that 22 of them plan to increase AI-focused data center capacity more than fourfold by 2033, compared to end-2025 levels. The price tag: roughly 10 trillion yen, or about $60 billion, spread over eight years. The big spenders NTT, Japan’s telecom giant, is leading the domestic charge with plans targeting a total capacity of 2 GW by fiscal 2033. The company has earmarked approximately 1.5 trillion yen, roughly $9 to $10 billion, in outlays to build out 1 GW of that capacity. Foreign capital is pouring in alongside domestic players. Blackstone has committed $30 billion to build out more than 1 GW of data center facilities in Japan over the next three to five years. Microsoft has pledged $10 billion specifically for AI data centers between 2026 and 2029. Perhaps the most intriguing newcomer is Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, which is reportedly considering a project worth approximately 1 trillion yen (about $6.3 billion) in Akita Prefecture. That single facility would target 500 MW of capacity, a scale that would make ...