Japanese Prefecture Partners with Nvidia on AI
Japan's Kagawa Prefecture has signed a partnership with Nvidia, marking the country's first collaboration between a local government and a global AI chip company. The agreement aims to promote regional AI adoption and support the development of data center infrastructure within the prefecture.
- Kagawa Prefecture is promoting itself to technology companies as an ideal location for data centers due to its low risk of natural disasters and stable power supply. The partnership was signed by Kagawa Governor Toyohito Ikeda and the head of Nvidia's Japanese unit, Masataka Osaki. - This local government partnership aligns with Japan's broader national strategy to become the "world's most AI-friendly country," which includes accelerating AI adoption and developing a robust, nationwide AI infrastructure through public-private collaborations. - Concurrent with this agreement, cloud provider Highreso is establishing a dedicated AI data center in Kagawa, which will utilize Nvidia H200 Tensor Core GPUs for its AI supercomputer cloud service. The facility is part of a plan to provide researchers and businesses across Japan with access to 1,600 Nvidia GPUs. - This deal is one piece of a larger Nvidia strategy in Japan, which includes major collaborations with companies like SoftBank, Fujitsu, and KDDI to build AI supercomputers and cloud services. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has stated that Japan has the potential to become a global leader in AI and robotics. - The national government has established an AI Strategic Headquarters, led by the Prime Minister, to systematically advance policies promoting AI research, development, and utilization across Japan. - Japan's AI market was valued at $15.64 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to $123.90 billion by 2032, with the government aiming to increase AI adoption to 80% of the population.
