Microsoft to Invest 10 B. Dlrs in Japan

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–Microsoft Corp. said Friday it will invest 10 billion dollars in Japan between 2026 and 2029 to beef up artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure capacity in the country and reinforce cybersecurity cooperation with the government. For the capacity expansion, the U.S. technology giant has teamed up with Japanese data center developer SoftBank Corp. and cloud service provider Sakura Internet Inc. In a related development the same day, visiting Microsoft President Brad Smith met with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo to outline the investment plan. “I’m delighted by one of the largest-ever investments in Japan,” Takaichi was quoted as saying by an official with access to the meeting. Speaking to reporters later, Smith expressed hope that Microsoft contributes to boosting Japan’s national cybersecurity and Japanese workers’ AI skills. The investment program also calls for fostering one million AI developers and engineers by 2030, as well as for providing AI skilling across the country. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]