Japanese telecoms group NTT Inc (TYO: 9432) is considering building the first core data centre for US artificial intelligence developer Anthropic in Japan, Kyodo News reported on October 14, citing a source familiar with the matter. The facility would be located in Osaka Prefecture, with NTT Data Group Corp handling the project.
Construction is expected to cost about JPY1 trillion ($6.3bn), which would place it among the largest projects of its kind in Japan. The plan comes as Tokyo courts AI developers to locate computing capacity on Japanese soil while worldwide demand for such infrastructure climbs. Anthropic opened its first Asian office in Tokyo in October last year, and a local data centre is expected to support the expansion of its Japanese business.
Because data centres process sensitive corporate and personal information, keeping facilities inside the country reduces risks tied to operations and cross-border data transfers.
Japan's Digital Minister Toshiharu Furukawa said on October 13 that the government had asked Anthropic to consider Japan as a location for a data centre. He made the request during a meeting in Tokyo with Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Furukawa said Japan wants to use Anthropic's know-how to strengthen a Japanese institute's capacity to detect vulnerabilities. In October last year the two sides agreed to share information on how companies can assess the capabilities, limitations and risks of AI models.
The discussions also covered AI regulation. Furukawa said the government would keep consulting AI developers and industry representatives as it works out its approach. California's rules, which focus on safeguards and accountability measures, are among the models under review.
Furukawa said that developing computing capacity at home would allow Japan to capture more of the economic gains from AI and secure a firmer place in the technology's supply chain.