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Tokyo Residents Rally to Halt Construction of Enormous Data Centre

Tokyo residents are rallying against the construction of a massive data centre by GLP. Concerns include threats to wildlife, pollution, increased electricity usage, and water supply depletion. The residents have filed a petition to audit the urban planning procedure.

sunset from the Tokyo Skytree in Japan
Credit: REUTERS

This development has raised concerns among businesses relying on Japan to meet the growing demand for data infrastructure.


Over 220 residents of Akishima city in western Tokyo have signed a petition to block the project, following a successful bid in Nagareyama city to halt a similar data centre plan. The residents fear that the centre will pose a threat to wildlife, cause pollution, increase electricity usage, and deplete the area's water supply, which relies solely on groundwater.


The residents have filed a petition to audit the urban planning procedure that approved GLP's ambitious 3.63-million-megawatt data centre. GLP estimates that the facility would emit approximately 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Yuji Ohtake, a representative of the residents' group, expressed concern that "one company will be responsible for ruining Akishima. That's what this development is,"


Notably, global tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle also have plans to establish data centres in Japan. The residents estimate that the construction would require the removal of 3,000 out of 4,800 trees on the site, posing a threat to the area's Eurasian goshawk birds and badgers. Representative Hiroyuki Hasegawa criticised the plan as unbelievably negligent.


The residents are contemplating filing for arbitration to urge GLP to reconsider its plan, which is scheduled to commence construction in February, with completion expected by early 2029. GLP has chosen not to comment on the residents' actions at this time.


Japan's data centre market is projected to grow by 10.8% in 2027 and 7.6% in 2028, driven by the increasing demand for digital transformation and cloud services. Real estate services firm Jones Lang Lasalle reports that in 2023, Japan witnessed a record 112 billion yen (US$694 million) in direct investment into data centre real estate.


This opposition from local residents is not limited to Akishima city. There is also growing resistance to the construction of a data centre in Kashiwa city, near Tokyo.

 
  • Tokyo residents are rallying against the construction of a massive data centre by GLP.

  • Concerns include threats to wildlife, pollution, increased electricity usage, and water supply depletion.

  • The residents have filed a petition to audit the urban planning procedure.


Source: REUTERS

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