”Japan’s AI goldrush faces backlash as data centers sprout up in urban areas” 21 June 2026

When Erin and Munekazu Tanikawa moved into a newly built condo in Inzai, ... [t]hey knew that something would be eventually built on the parking lot next to the condo, just a five-minute walk from the nearest train station, but assumed it would be something like a community center or a supermarket.

So they were in for a huge surprise in April last year when they spotted a notice stating the plot would be turned into a 52-meter-tall data center...

The Tanikawas are concerned that this massive facility would not only ruin their views but also raise environmental and health risks due to noise pollution and excess heat produced by data-processing operations. They also worry about the possibility that heavy oil, stored on-site for backup power generation, could catch fire. In March, 10 residents from the area’s three condos sued a private inspection company that issued a building permit for the project.

...amid the AI gold rush, laws and regulations have not kept pace with the development, causing friction with communities, mostly in large cities and their outlying suburbs.

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“In Japan, whether you are building a data center, a condominium or an office building, the expectation is that you first obtain the understanding and consent of the local community,” Masunaga [an official at the Japan Data Center Council] says.

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In response to a recent rise in disputes, the council in May announced community coexistence guidelines to urge operators to not only comply with laws but also take measures to address various environmental concerns by residents, such as landslide and flooding risks; excess heat from the facilities; issues arising from noise, vibrations, exhaust gas and odors; construction noise and dust; the obstruction of views; and threats to animal and plant habitats.

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Inzai’s project, called Inzai 5, is undertaken by London-based data services company Colt... backed by investments from major trading firm Mitsui & Co., Canadian pension fund CPP Investments and U.S.-based asset manager Fidelity Investments.

... the city officials asked the businesses to reconsider the project because they foresaw trouble with residents.

The city also sounded the businesses out about moving the facility to another location nearby. The developers declined...

In the end, Mayor Kengo Fujishiro said in December that there was nothing in the city’s legal power to “stop a private-sector development project carried out on privately owned land in accordance with existing laws and regulations.”

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