COUNTRY 04 / JAPAN
Reuse infrastructure.
Verify the workload.
Study power access, industrial-site conversion and practical AI use. Data-center opening is a milestone, not a complete operating dataset.
OPERATOR MILESTONE
22 Jan 2026
KDDI announced commencement of Osaka Sakai AI data-center operations.
SITE STRATEGY
Factory reuse
The project reuses infrastructure from a former Sharp plant, including power and cooling infrastructure.
UTILIZATION / IT MW
Unknown
The cited commencement announcement is not an independently verified utilization or delivered IT-load dataset.
01 / FOCUS
Where to look
Selected research segments, not a complete census.
POWER & GRID
Site-level electricity access
Utility connection, contracted capacity, grid limits and supply arrangements need project-specific evidence.
COMPUTE
Industrial-site conversion
Track conversion progress, operational halls, service availability and actual IT power separately.
APPLIED AI
Manufacturing and enterprise
Prioritize production workflows, named users and outcome verification over general AI strategy announcements.
02 / EVIDENCE
Source-linked milestones
Historical estimates, observed operation and future plans are labeled separately.
KDDI: Osaka Sakai AI data center commences operations
22 January 2026 · Operator-reported facility commencement. GPU Cloud service trials began on 22 January; applications were accepted from 1 April. Named prospective customers in this announcement are not verified deployed outcomes.
03 / LIMITS
What is not established
Read these limits before comparing markets.
- No national operating AI-capacity total is claimed.
- The source establishes an operator commencement announcement, not independently metered IT power or sustained utilization.
- Further Japanese project and deployment records are needed for comprehensive national coverage.