NTT Data reportedly nears deal to build Anthropic’s first Japan data centre

NTT Data Group is close to agreeing to a deal with Anthropic for a new data centre in Osaka, Nikkei Asia reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources.

It would be the first site in Japan built just for Anthropic, which makes the Claude AI models. TNW has not independently confirmed the report, and both NTT Data and Anthropic declined to comment to Nikkei.

Construction alone could cost up to ¥1 trillion ($6.3 billion), according to Nikkei. Adding a large number of AI servers with graphics processors would bring the total bill to several trillion yen.

The site would draw up to 500 megawatts of power, making it one of the largest data centres in Japan. The two companies aim to sign a deal by the end of March 2027, the close of Japan’s fiscal year, with part of the site opening as early as 2028.

Power is the main hurdle. Drawing 500 megawatts from the grid would be slow, so the project will first look at other options, such as generating electricity on site and using fuel cells, Nikkei reported.

NTT Data, part of the telecoms group NTT, ranks third among the world’s data centre operators by market share. It runs more than 1,600 megawatts of capacity in several countries.

Anthropic already has a foothold in Japan. In May, Hitachi agreed to roll out Claude across its workforce of about 290,000 people.

The company is also looking at new data centres in other Asian countries, where governments are competing to host them, according to Nikkei. In Australia, the Australian Financial Review has reported that it is in talks with local firms.

Japan is courting such projects as part of a wider data centre push. The government wants ¥32.7 trillion of public and private money in data centres, cloud computing, and battery storage by 2035. Other large sites are planned in Akita and Kagoshima, Nikkei reported.