Amazon Web Services (AWS) has on Friday announced its plans to invest 2.26 trillion yen ($15.25 billion) into its existing cloud infrastructure in Tokyo and Osaka by 2027 to meet growing customer demand for cloud services in Japan.
AWS said in a statement that according to the new AWS Economic Impact Study (EIS) for Japan, this planned investment is estimated to contribute 5.57 trillion yen ($37.58 billion) to Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP), and support an estimated average of 30,500 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in local Japanese businesses each year.
Having already invested 1.51 trillion yen ($10.19 billion) in Japan from 2011 to 2022, it said AWS’s planned total investment into cloud infrastructure in the country by 2027 will be approximately 3.77 trillion yen ($25.44 billion).
AWS opened its first office in Japan in 2009 and launched the AWS Asia Pacific (Tokyo) Region in 2011, and the AWS Asia Pacific (Osaka) Region in 2021.
“For over a decade, AWS has been committed to helping our Japanese customers access the latest cutting-edge technology, build digital solutions on highly resilient and secure cloud infrastructure, and adapt their businesses to maintain an edge in today’s complex economic environment,” said Tadao Nagasaki, president of AWS in Japan.
“Our investment into cloud infrastructure generates a ripple effect across the Japanese industries including the public and government sector,
“It will help more Japanese organizations with the ability to access and adopt new, emerging and transformational digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. We are committed to and excited about the future of Japan’s digital economy,” he added.
In Japan, AWS works with the local and international partner community, through the AWS Partner Network, which includes 100,000 independent software vendors (ISVs) and systems integrators (SIs).
Since 2021, AWS Partners cover 47 prefectures in Japan, offering more choices in digital tools and services for customers, further accelerating digital transformation.
Fourteen Japanese companies are recognized as top AWS Premier Tier Services Partners, and eight of them have entered into strategic collaboration agreements with AWS.
These Japanese partners include NEC, Fujitsu, Classmethod, NTT DATA, Hitachi Systems, Severworks, SCSK and NHN Techorus.
According to the statement, AWS’s investment will continue to play a pivotal role in helping organizations across industries in Japan to boost national productivity and transform customer experiences.
To accelerate generative AI adoption in Japan, AWS announced the general availability of Amazon Bedrock, in the AWS Asia Pacific (Tokyo) Region in October 2023.
AWS is also committed to accelerating the development of more diverse and industry-specific large language models (LLMs) with the launch of the AWS LLM Development Support Program in Japan.
This program provides select organizations with technical mentoring and $6 million investment in the form of AWS credits to build and train LLMs on AWS, expert guidance for selecting and procuring computing resources, and business-side support to grow users.
In July 2023, 17 diverse organizations were selected to participate.
In June 2023, AWS invested $100 million in the Generative AI Innovation Center, a program that connects AWS machine learning and AI experts with customers and partners worldwide to accelerate enterprise innovation and success with generative AI.
Customers in Japan such as Asahi Group Japan, a Japanese beverage holding company headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo, are collaborating with the Generative AI Innovation Center
to drive new product innovation using data analysis and improve operational efficiency.
AWS has also announced a collection of free and low-cost training courses, including four available in Japanese, to help people understand, implement, and begin using generative AI.
According to the statement, the economic growth created by AWS investment in the AWS Asia Pacific (Tokyo) Region and the AWS Asia Pacific (Osaka) Region will lead to a ripple effect in the Japanese cloud community.
This ripple effect will occur through accelerating productivity gains in the Japanese economy, empowering the digital transformation of businesses, including startups and small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), empowering the AWS Partner Network (APN), upskilling the cloud and digital workforce, developing renewable energy projects, and creating a positive impact in the communities where AWS operates.
Since 2017, AWS has offered training and skills development opportunities to more than 600,000 individuals in Japan in cloud-related technologies through its various learning offerings.
With programs such as AWS Skill Builder, a digital learning experience with over 600 free on-demand cloud skills courses including over 500 in Japanese, AWS said the firm continues to help customers in Japan scale their training and education efforts throughout the country.
Amazon is also committed to becoming a more sustainable business and reaching net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement, as part of the Climate Pledge.
The Climate Pledge exists to bring together a cross-sector community of individuals and organizations to work to decarbonize their economy.
In 2022, 90 percent of electricity consumed by Amazon was attributable to renewable energy sources, and the company is on a path to reach 100 percent by 2025.
In Japan, Amazon has invested in four offsite renewable energy projects with a combined estimated capacity of over 120,000 megawatt hours.
From 2014 through 2022, Amazon’s commitment to buy electricity produced by utility-scale renewable energy projects in Japan generated 2.72 billion yen ($18.34 million) of economic investment.
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