NTT Data commits ~$1.25 trillion to quadruple Japan's datacenter capacity by 2033, positioning Japan as major AI infrastructure hub.

Japanese technology conglomerate NTT Data Group is committing ¥1.5 trillion (approximately $9.6 billion or KES 1.25 trillion) to domestic data center infrastructure over the next seven years, a strategic acceleration driven by global demand for artificial intelligence computing.

The investment aims to quadruple the company's domestic capacity to one gigawatt by 2033, adding approximately 750 megawatts of new power. Industry analysts indicate that installing each megawatt of advanced data center capacity in Japan currently costs between ¥2 billion and ¥2.5 billion, a baseline that excludes the substantial costs of AI accelerators such as Nvidia GPUs.

NTT Data, majority-owned by government-backed NTT Inc., plans to add an initial 42 megawatts of capacity across domestic sites this fiscal year, followed by the groundbreaking of a 100-megawatt facility in Tochigi prefecture next year. The company is positioning itself to outpace global competitors like Equinix and Digital Realty.

The rapid expansion responds to severe computing supply shortages across the Asia-Pacific region, where corporations are racing to train large language models and deploy generative AI solutions. Yasuo Suzuki, a former NTT Data executive who managed Asia-Pacific data center operations, noted that the company is fielding intense interest from multinational clients seeking to secure blocks of 100 megawatts dedicated exclusively to AI inferencing.

To secure necessary baseload power, NTT Global Data Centers Japan established a strategic joint venture with TEPCO Power Grid to integrate power generation, transmission, and data center operations in the Greater Tokyo area.

To finance this expansion, NTT Data is establishing Japan's first domestic data center-specialized Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), targeted for launch by March 2026 with an initial asset size of 100 billion yen. The move is necessary given that the company's interest-bearing debt has quadrupled since 2022, reaching an estimated ¥2.2 trillion. By offloading mature assets into the REIT, NTT Data can recycle capital and fund greenfield construction.