Japan Data Center Update 35: GX Strategic Zones: Japan Targets GW-Scale Data Center Clusters Across Nine Zones

GigaStream Toyama is advancing data center development in Nanto City, Toyama Prefefcture.

The designated GX Strategic Zones by types are as follow:

(1) Industrial Complex Redevelopment Type: One zone

METI designated Kawasaki City, which plans to establish a production scale-up hub for GX-related startups in the Minamiwatarida district and a large-scale GX industrial cluster in the Ogishima district.

(2) Data Center Cluster Type: Nine zones (10 sites)

METI designated nine zones covering 10 sites: Hokkaido (Ishikari and Tomakomai); Akita Prefecture (Akita); Miyagi Prefecture (Tomiya); Tochigi Prefecture (Yaita); Ibaraki Prefecture (a zone spanning Joso and Tsukuba); Toyama Prefecture (Nanto); Kagawa Prefecture (a zone spanning Ayagawa, Sakaide, and Marugame); Fukuoka Prefecture (a zone spanning Kitakyushu, Nogata, and Kurate); and Kagoshima Prefecture (Satsumasendai).

Each zones plans to develop a GW-scale data center cluster over approximately the next 10 years. Hokkaido plans to establish two separate GW-scale clusters, one in Ishikari and the other in Tomakomai.

(3) Decarbonized Power Utilization Type: Eight zones (10 sites)

METI designated eight zones covering 10 sites: Aomori Prefecture (Rokkasho and Rokunohe); Akita Prefecture (Akita); Fukushima Prefecture (Namie); Niigata Prefecture (Seiro), Niigata Prefecture (Kashiwazaki), Niigata Prefecture (Ojiya); Fukui Prefecture (Fukui and Obama); and Shimane Prefecture (Matsue). These regions will develop industrial parks utilizing renewable and nuclear power.

(4) Decarbonized Power Regional Contribution Type

Under this category, the GX Zones Co-creation Subsidy will support capital investment by companies, particularly data centers and factories, that use decarbonized power and contribute to the communities hosting those power sources. The first application round closed on September 1, 2026, and applications will now be reviewed. A second round is scheduled to begin around mid-October.

The government will support designated GX Strategic Zones through capital investment assistance, anticipatory grid development, and regulatory and institutional reforms. Promising areas under categories (1) through (3) that were not designated in this round will continue refining their business plans with government support and are expected to receive designation once their plans have reached sufficient maturity.
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