Digital Edge (Singapore) Holdings Pte. Ltd. (“Digital Edge”) has announced it has entered into a partnership with Hulic, a leading Japanese real estate developer, to develop a carrier neutral data center facility in downtown Tokyo, Japan. The project, known as TYO7, is designed to provide much needed interconnect focused colocation capacity to one of the world’s largest data center markets as Digital Edge further establishes its platform across Asia Pacific.
Japan continues to be recognized as a leader in digital transformation and data driven businesses, and the pace of change has only accelerated since the global pandemic; the Japan IoT (Internet of things) market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23.0% (2017-27) while edge AI applications in Japan are witnessing a CAGR of 20.03% (2021-30) . The Tokyo data center market is currently valued at USD $2.2bn (as of 2021) but despite growing demand, land for data center development in the network dense, downtown area of Tokyo is limited, making retail colocation space in a central location highly sought after by network, cloud, and enterprise customers.
TYO7 is an interconnect focused project designed to address this unmet demand and further enhance the Digital Edge ecosystem in Tokyo. The new facility will be situated only 1 km from Otemachi, the central network hub of Japan, and less than 300m from the company’s existing TYO2 site (formerly known as ComSpace I), which is one of the most network dense data centers in Tokyo. Cross Link and additional third party carrier connectivity solutions will provide customers with a variety of options to access Digital Edge’s virtual Tokyo campus as well as other key data centers in the metro.
Located in the Nihonbashi-Kobuna-cho district the new facility will sit in a dark fiber rich area and in close proximity to the financial district, making it ideally located both for domestic and international carriers, as well as major enterprise customers looking to expand their network and IT infrastructure in the metro. It will also serve as a natural extension for existing TYO2 customers. TYO7 will operate under the Digital Edge brand name and is expected to be Ready-for-Service in early 2025.
Samuel Lee, Chief Executive Officer at Digital Edge, said, “This strategic project is another important step in our journey to build a regional platform and establish a thriving digital ecosystem across Asia. We are pleased to partner with Hulic, a well-respected Tokyo based real estate developer, to leverage their local market knowledge alongside our data center know-how to provide much needed digital infrastructure capacity in the heart of Tokyo.”
Tadashi Nakajima, Senior Executive Managing Officer at Hulic, commented, “As we look towards the future, we are excited to commence our first data center operation and development project at such an important site in Hulic’s history. Digital Edge’s experienced management team with their proven track record in Asia make an ideal partner for us as we establish a foothold in Tokyo’s fast growing data center industry and continue to offer the essential services our customers need to thrive.”
Kei Furuta, President & Chief Revenue Officer at Digital Edge said, “This project marks our ninth data center in Japan and will provide depth to our existing platform, offering much needed high quality colocation and interconnection options to customers in downtown Tokyo. This small but strategically located site will complement our other facilities that cater to enterprise, hyperscale and high power density applications, as we further contribute to the development of Japan’s vital digital infrastructure.”
