FEATURE: Tokyoites push back against IT giants' encroaching data behemoths
Discontent is growing in the Tokyo metropolitan area due to proposals to construct giant data centers in residential areas, with industry groups working to smooth relations between locals concerned about the "eerie" facilities' imposing nature and the companies that operate them.
Despite tech companies investing heavily to build the massive digital hubs to meet the storage and processing demands of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, some projects are being scrapped due to opposition from residents worried about electricity shortages, heat islands and obstruction of their natural light.
In the city of Hino in Tokyo, a billboard announced the construction of three data centers, including a five-story, 72-meter-tall building scheduled for completion in 2031. As the tallest structure in the city, it would be the area's proverbial sore thumb.
A residential association is demanding the project be paused until the plan conforms to a city ordinance that limits the height of apartment buildings to 25 meters.
The facility, which will require tight security, would also consume a massive amount of electricity and generate significant levels of heat.
"They haven't given us an acceptable explanation," said resident association head Eizo Tsutsumizaki, 71, referring to the project owner Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
Mitsui Fudosan is now considering whether the building's height can be reduced. As a tradeoff, it also plans to build a new park and sidewalk on the site to accommodate the community.
In Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, home to many data centers, the city was flooded with calls of concern in April when plans were revealed for an over 50-meter-tall building housing a data center in a prime location in front of a station.
It would add a new and imposing structure to the area, which already hosts 114 data centers, according to datacenter.com.
Mayor Kengo Fujishiro wrote on social media, "This place is the center of civic life. It is not an appropriate location for this facility."
In Nagareyama, a city in the same prefecture, a plan that surfaced in 2022 to build a data center on a vacant lot south of the city hall had to be withdrawn due to opposition from residents.
The clashes between residents and the technology behemoths stem from a lack of suitable sites in Japan, considered an attractive location.
According to the Japan Data Center Council, Japan has better infrastructure and a stable political environment compared to other Asian countries, making it a prime location for large-scale technology investment.
However, proposed sites tend to be located around large cities where it is easy to access workers and telecommunications infrastructure is robust.
"The only suitable sites are in Tokyo, Osaka, and their suburbs," said JDCC executive director Naohiro Masunaga. With nearly all the options exhausted, businesses have no choice but to encroach into residential areas.
As demand for data handling explodes, facilities are becoming larger and larger. Hyperscale data centers -- facilities with a total floor space of more than 15,000 square meters -- have become common, with their integrated server farms meeting the processing needs of rapidly growing cloud computing, big data, and generative AI functions.
Fumito Haga, manager of Fuji Chimera Research Institute, said, "There is no doubt that the number of giant data centers will continue to increase."
Some municipalities are taking matters into their own hands. In April, Tokyo's Koto Ward started requiring data center business owners to install signs announcing construction earlier than previously and to clearly indicate the location of heat-emitting outdoor units.
Inzai has begun considering whether to set restrictions on the construction of data centers near residential areas.
JDCC's Masunaga said, "Right now, anxiety is prevailing. It is important for business owners to disclose information and steadily work to build trust with the communities affected."
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