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The 2025 data center market was a year that saw the entry of more diverse players than ever before, resulting in a substantial increase in the scale of projects. Driven by the rapid adoption of Generative AI (GenAI) and the expansion of cloud usage, the Japanese market once again attracted significant attention from both domestic and international operators, who recognize it as a market with promising medium- to long-term growth.

A defining characteristic throughout this year was the broadening scope of participants. While the market was previously dominated by major domestic operators and a few foreign companies, 2025 saw players with diverse backgrounds simultaneously increasing their presence. These included real estate developers, infrastructure investment funds, telecommunications companies, and specialized data center operators with extensive track records overseas.

Furthermore, the nature of the facilities themselves evolved. Development went beyond simple colocation offerings, progressing toward high-power, high-density designs optimized for AI workloads, and large-scale, campus-style developments targeting hyperscalers. It is fair to say that the market as a whole experienced a year where “diversification” and “scaling up” proceeded in parallel.

Significant shifts were also observed in terms of location. In addition to the established areas of the greater Tokyo and Kansai regions, there was a continuous wave of expansion into new regions and secondary major cities, leading to a much wider geographic distribution of data center locations across Japan.

Key Moves by Data Center Operators Symbolizing 2025

ESR’s move serves as an emblematic example of the 2025 market trends. Through partnerships with Stack Infrastructure and Colt DCS, ESR expanded into a new area: Osaka’s Nanko district. This was a symbolic development, showing that the options for data center locations in the Kansai Area have broadened.

The collaboration between Gaw Capital and DayOne was another characteristic move of 2025. This data center operator, which has Singaporean capital backing but is headquartered in China, made its substantive first entry into the Japanese market this year. It can be said that 2025 was the year when the presence of Chinese-affiliated data center operators, including GDS, became more visible in Japan.

Furthermore, global specialized data center operators like FLOW Digital Infrastructure and EdgeConneX also entered the Japanese market for the first time in 2025. The fact that a succession of operators with extensive operational expertise from overseas markets established a foothold in Japan indicates a further progression in the market’s maturity.

Global Compute Infrastructure (GCI) entered the Japanese market by expanding into Kitakyushu, concretely demonstrating the potential for data center development in regional cities. Additionally, Princeton Digital Group (PDG) proceeded with its first large-scale data center development in Saitama City, boosting its profile as a major project in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area.

2025 was a year when diverse players introduced their respective strengths, bringing new options and greater breadth to Japan’s data center market. These developments offer crucial insights for considering the future form of data centers, location strategies, and business models in the years to come.