"Anthropic, NTT Coordinate Plans for Japan's Largest Data Center in Osaka" - The Asia Business Daily
Likely to be Anthropic's first data center in Japan
Nikkei: "Partial operations to begin in 2028"
U.S.-based Anthropic is reportedly coordinating plans with Japan's NTT to build a data center in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on October 13, NTT DATA Group, an NTT subsidiary, and Anthropic are in final discussions on building a new data center in a coastal area in southern Osaka. If the plan is finalized, it will be Anthropic's first data center in Japan.
The data center will have a capacity of up to 500 megawatts (MW), making it one of the largest in Japan. Construction costs are expected to reach 1 trillion yen (800 billion won). Nikkei reported, "If a large number of servers equipped with advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) are brought in, the total investment could swell to several trillion yen." Citing people familiar with the matter, the newspaper added that the companies aim to sign a contract within the current fiscal year (April 2026 to March 2027), with partial operations expected to begin in 2028.
Nikkei said the project, if realized, would create a foundation for developing and operating advanced artificial intelligence (AI) in Japan. It also forecast that the project would help build "sovereign AI," enabling AI data to be stored and processed within the country. The Japanese government has previously designated data centers, cloud services and energy storage batteries as strategic growth sectors, setting a target of investing 32.7 trillion yen ( won) through public-private partnerships by 2035.
Osaka Prefecture is working to attract data centers to strengthen related functions as it pursues designation as a "secondary capital," a proposal under discussion among Japanese political circles. Nikkei said, "The Kansai region, where Osaka is located, is considered to have ample power supply compared with the Tokyo metropolitan area and other parts of the capital region, as well as large sites available along the coast."
However, securing a large supply of electricity remains a challenge. Since it would take considerable time to receive 500 MW of power through the grid, the companies are reportedly considering using alternative power sources, such as fuel cells, in the initial phase.
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Meanwhile, Anthropic and NTT DATA Group declined to comment when Nikkei asked them to confirm their data center construction plans.
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