17:05 JST, March 27, 2026

Amid the spread of generative artificial intelligence, data centers have become a critical part of infrastructure that supports a digital society. Efforts should be made to spread out such facilities across the nation to prevent them from being concentrated in specific areas.

Data centers are facilities that house large numbers of servers and handle data storage and processing via the internet.

These facilities lead to the vitalization of economic activities, including those in related industries. The United States — where tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft have a significant presence — is the global leader in the data center field.

According to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, there are more than 5,000 data centers in the United States, while Japan only has a little over 200. Furthermore, data centers in Japan tend to be concentrated in major urban areas, and that has become an issue.

The Tokyo metropolitan area houses about 60% of all data centers in the nation, causing a shortage of suitable sites in the area. As data centers have begun to be built not only in commercial and industrial zones but also in locations close to residential areas, opposition movements have emerged in various places due to concerns over noise, waste heat and the deterioration of the landscape.

In Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, local residents filed a lawsuit earlier this month, seeking the revocation of a building permit for a data center. They have argued that the construction of the data center in front of a train station should be considered that of a warehouse or factory that is not permitted under the city’s urban planning regulations.

The Building Standards Law, which took effect in 1950, makes no mention of data centers, so data centers are often built as “offices,” a category with lax location restrictions. As data centers look like gigantic, imposing factories, many people find it odd that they are classified as offices.

The Tokyo metropolitan government intends to formulate guidelines that will require facility operators to consider the environment and harmonize with the local community. The central government should also work together with local governments to clarify rules for constructing data centers.

Excessive concentration of data centers in urban areas raises concerns over power shortages and the risk of major disruptions to electricity services during disasters. There are many advantages to promoting decentralization of data centers by expanding into regional areas.

As seen in Hokkaido, there have also been growing moves to attract data centers by leveraging local strengths such as the climate and ground conditions. In Kagawa Prefecture, IT-related companies have been brought together around a data center, and this initiative has created jobs. It is crucial to revitalize regional areas through increased tax revenue.

It is also important to achieve both a stable power supply and decarbonization by locating data centers near power generation facilities, such as renewable energy plants.

In recent years, Japan has faced a so-called digital deficit, where payments to U.S. IT service providers with extensive data center infrastructure exceed Japanese firms’ revenue. Last year, this figure reached ¥6.7 trillion. Increased payments in dollars that are associated with the trade deficit have also contributed to the weakening of the yen.

Among domestic companies, major telecommunications companies such as NTT, Inc. have engaged in developing large-scale data centers. The deficit should be reduced through the effective use of domestic data centers and the expansion of relevant services.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 27, 2026)

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