Shulman Advisory

Japan Data Center Update 13: New Data Center Models Emerge as Land, Cooling, and Grid Constraints Tighten

Publication date: April 7, 2026  Japan Data Center Update 13: New Data Center Models Emerge as Land, Cooling, and Grid Constraints Tighten  MOL, Hitachi Target Floating Data Centers to Ease Urban Deployment Bottlenecks Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Hitachi, and Hitachi Systems have signed a basic agreement to jointly develop a “floating data center” by converting …

JEPX System Upgrades: Shift to API-Based Trading Reshapes Market Access

Publication date: April 7, 2026 JEPX System Upgrades: Shift to API-Based Trading Reshapes Market Access JEPX will begin rolling out its upgraded trading system from April 2026, with a phased transition across spot and intraday markets extending through FY2026. The key change lies in the migration from browser-based trading to API (Application Programming Interface) -driven …

Japan’s Renewable Transition: Progress and Challenges Since the 7th Strategic Energy Plan

Publication date: April 2, 2026  Japan’s Renewable Transition: Progress and Challenges Since the 7th Strategic Energy Plan The Middle East situation has once again exposed Japan’s dependence on imported fuels and reminds us of the importance of increasing energy self-sufficiency, currently at around 15% (Nikkei). The 7th Strategic Energy Plan (7th SEP), published by the …

Japan Data Center Update 12: Data Center Expansion Drives Infrastructure Upgrades and New Deployment Models

Publication date: March 31, 2026  Japan Data Center Update 12: Data Center Expansion Drives Infrastructure Upgrades and New Deployment Models TEPCO PG Expands Inzai Substation as Data Center Demand Surges in Chiba Inzai City hosts dozens of data centers, including facilities operated by Google, and electricity demand from data centers is rapidly accelerating. Applications indicate …

METI Further Clarifies Key Elements of the Retailer Obligation Framework

Publication date: March 30, 2026 METI Further Clarifies Key Elements of the Retailer Obligation Framework In our previous newsletter, Japan’s Power Market News Week 7, we noted that the Working Group (WG) on System Design Based on the Review of Power System Reforms would further examine key design issues regarding the planned retailer’s obligation to …

Japan Data Center Update 11: Managing Community Relations in Japan’s Data Center Expansion 

Publication date: March 24, 2026  Japan Data Center Update 11: Managing Community Relations in Japan’s Data Center Expansion  HIGHRESO Combines AI Data Center Expansion with Local Workforce Training in Akita HIGHRESO, a provider of GPU cloud services, will establish an AI data center in Oga City, Akita Prefecture. The facility will repurpose the former Haraido …

TEPCO to Include Faster Fuel Cost Pass-Through in Corporate Tariffs From April

Publication date: March 21, 2026 TEPCO to Include Faster Fuel Cost Pass-Through in Corporate Tariffs From April TEPCO will revise its tariff for corporate customers (super high-voltage and high-voltage) from April onward. Currently, the average fuel price from three to five months prior to the month of use is reflected in corporate electricity tariffs. However, …

Japan Data Center Update 10: Decentralized Data Center Expansion and Growing Local Resistance

Publication date: March 17, 2026  Japan Data Center Update 10: Decentralized Data Center Expansion and Growing Local Resistance Yamaura And TOSYS Partner On Distributed Data Center “NAGANO Model” Construction company Yamaura and ICT service provider TOSYS, both based in Nagano Prefecture, have signed a business alliance agreement to jointly offer a new initiative called the …

Japanese Futures Jump to Record Levels Amid Middle East Tensions

Publication date: March 17, 2026 Japanese Futures Jump to Record Levels Amid Middle East Tensions The outbreak of war in the Middle East has triggered a sharp increase in prices and trading volumes of Japanese electricity futures on the European Energy eXchange (EEX). On March 3, trading volume reached 4,905 GWh, significantly surpassing the previous …

Japan Data Center Market Update 9: Japan’s Data Center Market Shift Toward Edge and High-Speed Optical Infrastructure

Publication date: March 10, 2026  Japan Data Center Market Update 9: Japan’s Data Center Market Shift Toward Edge and High-Speed Optical Infrastructure MHI Launches DIAVAULT, an On-site Edge AI Data Center for Real-time Processing On February 24th, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries launched its proprietary industrial edge data center solution, “DIAVAULT,” designed for on-premise AI inference use …