Japan Struggles to Balance Data Center Boom, Local Concerns Tokyo, Oct. 29 (Jiji Press)–With many data center construction projects underway across Japan, concerns are growing among local residents about deteriorating living conditions due to noise and thermal pollution from such facilites. Obstacles remain to peaceful coexistence between data centers and local communities, and some projects have triggered lawsuits. Local governments are scrambling to gain public understanding for projects, including by introducing their own rules on the accountability of facility operators, as there is no clear legal definition of data centers, let alone rules governing where they can be built. Coexistence at Appropriate Locations In Tokyo’s Koto Ward, several data center projects have emerged near residential neighborhoods, prompting petitions calling for their cancellation. While suggesting that data centers should be built in other locations, Koto Mayor Tomoka Okubo acknowledged the difficulty of halting the projects, saying, “As long as there are no clear legal standards, there is no basis for imposing uniform restrictions.” The ward government issued guidelines for data center operators in February to address residents’ concerns. The guidelines define a large-scale data center as a facility that is more than 10 meters tall and has a total floor space exceeding 3,000 square meters, of which more than half is used for data center operations. The guidelines require data center businesses to explain the potential effects of their planned facilities on residents’ access to sunlight, as well as exhaust heat, noise and other possible problems, to nearby residents before construction. Some residents have called for curbs on data center construction. In the city of Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, a lawsuit was filed in March to overturn building approval for a project near Hokuso-Railway Co.’s Chiba Newtown Chuo Station. A key issue in the legal battle is whether data centers should be treated as offices or other facilities not classified, or as factories, which are subject to stricter location regulations. “The root of the problem is the absence of a definition of data centers in the building standards law,” said Munekazu Tanikawa, one of the plaintiffs. “We want to coexist with data centers by ensuring that appropriate facilities are built at appropriate locations.” Data Centers Changing Rapidly In May, Japan Data Center Council, an industry group, released guidelines outlining principles and considerations for coexistence between data centers and local communities. The guidelines emphasize the importance of careful dialogue with communities and consideration for the surrounding environment. Data centers operate for long periods after completion, so it is important for them to fulfill their role while earning the understanding and trust of local communities, the guidelines say. While data centers have been built in Japan since the 1980s, advances in artificial intelligence technology are causing the facilities to turn into buildings that consume vast amounts of electricity at an accelerating pace, the group said. “Going forward, it is necessary to simultaneously consider achieving convenient telecommunications, a stable electricity supply, decarbonization and the utilization of local resources,” NLI Research Institute researcher Soichiro Shimada said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
