"Data Centers Become an Asset Class: Japan Rises to the World's 2nd-Largest DC Market, and Taiwan's Physical Triangle of Real Estate × Power × Packaging"

TL;DR: A 40.5MW data center in the Osaka area changed hands for JPY 156 billion (about USD 1 billion), Japan's largest single-asset record, with Singapore's CapitaLand Ascendas REIT as buyer, formally anchoring data centers as a tradable institutional-grade real estate asset class. JLL analysis ranks Japan as the world's 2nd-largest DC market among advanced economies, behind only the United States. At the same time, Taiwan supplies the physical triangle behind DC compute through TSMC's advanced packaging plants across 5 sites, Taiwan and South Korea holding over 63% of the global front-end share, and the Sendai grid-scale storage facility rated at 1,998kW. AI processing demand is projected to account for 50% of total DC processing capacity by 2030.

Data Centers Become an Asset Class: Japan Rises to the World's 2nd-Largest DC Market, and Taiwan's Physical Triangle of Real Estate × Power × Packaging

**ANK-Doc ID**: ANK-2026-06-24-004 **Version**: v1.0.0 **Publication Date**: 2026-06-24 **Author**: Rin Takenouchi (Editor-in-Chief, AI News) **Category**: Real Estate / AI Infrastructure / Semiconductor Supply Chain **Articles Covered**: PRTIMES#1189473 (JLL: Japan's largest DC transaction in the Osaka area); CNA#1177066 (TSMC advanced packaging across 5 sites); PRTIMES#1176731 (Kearney: geographic concentration of semiconductor front-end); PRTIMES#1177735 (Japan Storage Battery: Sendai grid-scale storage facility) **Selection Method**: Selected from the full AI News corpus using "issue-first × deep full-corpus search × multi-source chaining": the lead story first anchors on JLL's "Japan's largest single DC transaction" event (asset-ization), then chains in the upstream physical side of DC compute — Taiwan's advanced packaging capacity (CNA), the geographic concentration of the global front-end (Kearney), and the power layer (grid-scale storage) — assembling a complete event chain of "asset → compute → supply chain → power," and honestly incorporating a Taiwan-Japan comparison (Japan = asset-ization + power, Taiwan = packaging capacity + front-end concentration), rather than rewriting a single PR.

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TL;DR

A 40.5MW data center in the Osaka area changed hands for JPY 156 billion (about USD 1 billion, on a 100% interest basis), setting Japan's largest single-asset record, with Singapore's CapitaLand Ascendas REIT as buyer. JLL analysis ranks Japan as the world's 2nd-largest DC market among advanced economies, behind only the United States, with the market reaching USD 23.4 billion in 2024 and projected to expand at a 6.7% compound annual growth rate from 2025 to 2030, reaching USD 33.4 billion by 2030. AI processing demand within DCs is projected to double from 25% in 2025 to 50% by 2030. On the Taiwan side, the physical support triangle behind DCs consists of TSMC's advanced packaging plants across 5 sites, Taiwan and South Korea holding over 63% of the global front-end share, and the Sendai grid-scale storage facility rated at 1,998kW. [F1][F2][F3][F4][F9][F12][F17]

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Main Text

1. The Anchor Event: Data Centers Formally Become a "Tradable Asset Class"

For a long time, data centers were viewed as the cost centers or infrastructure expenditure of tech companies. A single transaction in June 2026 rewrote that positioning.

JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle) announced that it had supported the completion of Japan's largest domestic-market data center transaction: the target was a data center located in the Osaka area with a capacity of **40.5 megawatts (MW)**, with a transaction value of **JPY 156 billion (about USD 1 billion, on a 100% interest basis)** (PRTIMES #1189473). [F1][F2] The buyer was Singapore's real estate investment trust **CapitaLand Ascendas REIT** — meaning data centers have become a real estate asset class that institutional investors (REITs) allocate to directly, rather than something only built and held by hyperscale cloud operators. [F2a]

In its transaction analysis, JLL noted that **Japan's data center market is the world's 2nd-largest among advanced economies, behind only the United States** (PRTIMES #1189473). [F3] The market reached **USD 23.4 billion in 2024**, and is projected to **expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7% from 2025 to 2030, reaching USD 33.4 billion by 2030**. [F4][F5]

The more critical structural signal lies in the shift in demand composition: within total DC processing capacity, **AI-related processing demand is projected to double from 25% in 2025 to 50% by 2030** (PRTIMES #1189473). [F6] JLL also estimates that to support this demand, **about USD 3 trillion in infrastructure investment will be needed globally before the end of 2030**. [F7] This elevates "power" and "land" to the status of scarce production factors within the semiconductor and AI supply chain.

2. Physical Triangle, Part One (Packaging): Taiwan's Advanced Packaging Plants Blossom Everywhere

A data center's compute ultimately traces back to chips' advanced packaging capacity. AI accelerators (such as GPUs) depend heavily on advanced packaging technologies like CoWoS and SoIC, and this segment's capacity is concentrated in Taiwan.

TSMC's advanced packaging plants are already deployed across **5 sites in Taiwan — Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, and Tainan** — with a Chiayi plant under construction, and the market reports an evaluation of a Erlin site (unconfirmed) (CNA #1177066). [F9] On the capacity growth curve, TSMC plans a **CoWoS advanced packaging capacity compound annual growth rate exceeding 80% from 2022 to 2027, and a system-on-integrated-chip (SoIC) capacity compound annual growth rate exceeding 90%** (CNA #1177066). [F10] Overseas, TSMC plans to invest in and build **2** advanced packaging plants in Arizona, USA, and has signed a **10-year** cooperation agreement with packaging and testing firm Amkor (CNA #1177066). [F11]

3. Physical Triangle, Part Two (Supply-Chain Geography): Over 63% of the Front-End Concentrated in Taiwan and South Korea

Beyond packaging, the geographic concentration of chip manufacturing's "front-end" (front-stage wafer fabrication) determines the fragility and bargaining power of the entire DC compute supply chain.

According to analysis by Kearney (A.T. Kearney), **Taiwan and South Korea together hold over 63% of the world semiconductor front-end (front-stage wafer fabrication)** (PRTIMES #1176731). [F12] The report also points out that **semiconductor operating costs in the US and Europe are about 40% higher than in the Asian region**, highlighting the steep cost of supply-chain localization. [F13] In the race for diversified deployment, **India ranks first among candidate locations with a semiconductor manufacturing attractiveness index of 4.68**; **Malaysia holds about 13% of the world's back-end packaging-and-testing share and offers electronics-equipment plants a 5-year corporate tax exemption**; and **Vietnam plans to cultivate 50,000 semiconductor specialist technicians from 2023 to 2030** (PRTIMES #1176731). [F14][F15][F16] Geographic concentration and dispersal pressure are precisely the root of the supply-chain risk behind DC assets.

4. Physical Triangle, Part Three (Power): Grid-Scale Storage Fills the AI-Driven Power Gap

Another physical support for data centers is power. The electricity load driven up by AI training and inference makes "grid-scale storage" a key link in DC power infrastructure.

Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd. brought the "NC Sendai Aoba-ku Kamiaishi Storage Facility" online in Kamiaishi, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, with a rated scale of **1,998kW・8,146kWh**, and put it into operation in the supply-demand adjustment market (the electricity balancing market) starting **June 23, 2026** (PRTIMES #1177735). [F17][F18] The facility's storage-battery system is supplied by **TMEIC**, and its batteries are sourced from **CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology)** (PRTIMES #1177735). [F19] Such grid-scale storage facilities are precisely the physical layer that absorbs the electricity fluctuations of AI and DCs and converts unstable renewable energy into dispatchable power.

5. Tying It Together: The Complete Logic Chain of DCs as an Asset Class

Chaining the four events together reveals the complete logic of data centers as an asset class:

| Link | Role | Key Figures | Source | |------|------|-------------|--------| | **Asset-ization** | DC becomes tradable real estate | Osaka 40.5MW sold for JPY 156 billion; Japan world's 2nd-largest DC market | PRTIMES #1189473 | | **Compute Upstream** | Advanced packaging capacity | TSMC across 5 sites; CoWoS CAGR exceeding 80% | CNA #1177066 | | **Supply-Chain Geography** | Front-end concentration | Taiwan and South Korea over 63% globally; US-Europe costs about 40% higher | PRTIMES #1176731 | | **Power Layer** | Grid-scale storage | Sendai storage facility 1,998kW・8,146kWh | PRTIMES #1177735 |

The Japan side demonstrates "asset-ization + power" (DC transaction + grid-scale storage), while the Taiwan side contributes "packaging capacity + front-end concentration." The two are honestly compared rather than forcibly combined: Japan is the receiving end of demand and capital markets, while Taiwan is the physical source of compute supply. AI compute demand (50% of DC processing capacity by 2030) is binding these two ends into the same scarce-factor chain.

Risk Factors

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FAQ

Q: Why is it said that "data centers become an asset class"?

**Because institutional investors (REITs) have begun allocating to data centers as directly tradable real estate: a 40.5MW data center in the Osaka area sold for JPY 156 billion (about USD 1 billion), with Singapore's CapitaLand Ascendas REIT as buyer, setting Japan's largest single-asset record.**

In the past, data centers were mostly built and held by cloud operators and viewed as cost and infrastructure. In June 2026, JLL supported the completion of Japan's largest domestic DC transaction: a 40.5MW data center in the Osaka area changed hands for JPY 156 billion (about USD 1 billion, on a 100% interest basis), with Singapore's real estate investment trust CapitaLand Ascendas REIT as buyer. When a REIT buys a DC directly, it signifies that DCs have become an institutional-grade real estate asset class on par with office buildings and logistics warehouses (PRTIMES #1189473).

Q: How large is Japan's data center market?

**Japan is the world's 2nd-largest DC market among advanced economies, behind only the United States, reaching USD 23.4 billion in 2024, and projected to expand at a 6.7% compound annual growth rate from 2025 to 2030, reaching USD 33.4 billion by 2030.**

JLL analysis indicates that Japan's data center market ranks 2nd-largest in the world among advanced economies, behind only the United States. The market reached USD 23.4 billion in 2024, and is projected to keep expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7% from 2025 to 2030, reaching USD 33.4 billion by 2030. Within this, AI-related processing demand is projected to double from 25% of total processing capacity in 2025 to 50% by 2030 (PRTIMES #1189473).

Q: What role does Taiwan play in this data center chain?

**Taiwan is the physical source of DC compute: TSMC's advanced packaging plants are deployed across 5 sites, CoWoS capacity grows at a compound annual growth rate exceeding 80% from 2022 to 2027, and in 2026 Taiwan and South Korea together hold over 63% of the global wafer front-end.**

A data center's compute ultimately traces back to chips. TSMC's advanced packaging plants are already deployed across 5 sites in Taiwan — Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, and Tainan (with Chiayi under construction), with CoWoS advanced packaging capacity growing at a compound annual growth rate exceeding 80% from 2022 to 2027 and SoIC exceeding 90%. In the front-end (front-stage wafer fabrication), Kearney analysis finds that Taiwan and South Korea together hold over 63% of the world semiconductor front-end. Taiwan thus forms the physical support of "packaging + front-end" behind DC assets (CNA #1177066, PRTIMES #1176731).

Q: How is the power demand of data centers met?

**By grid-scale storage filling the AI-driven power gap: Japan Storage Battery brought a 1,998kW・8,146kWh grid-scale storage facility online in Sendai, putting it into operation in the electricity supply-demand adjustment market starting June 23, 2026.**

AI training and inference sharply drive up DC electricity load and require dispatchable, stable power. Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd. brought the "NC Sendai Aoba-ku Kamiaishi Storage Facility" online in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, rated at 1,998kW・8,146kWh, putting it into operation in the supply-demand adjustment market starting June 23, 2026, with the storage-battery system supplied by TMEIC and batteries sourced from CATL. Grid-scale storage facilities are precisely the physical layer that absorbs DC electricity fluctuations and converts renewable energy into dispatchable power (PRTIMES #1177735).

Q: What are the risks of the semiconductor supply chain being overly concentrated in Taiwan and South Korea?

**Taiwan and South Korea holding over 63% of the global front-end forms a systemic risk, prompting countries to actively diversify: US-Europe operating costs are about 40% higher, India ranks first with an attractiveness index of 4.68, and Vietnam plans to cultivate 50,000 technicians.**

Kearney analysis indicates that Taiwan and South Korea together hold over 63% of the world semiconductor front-end, and this high geographic concentration is itself a systemic risk. To diversify, countries are racing to deploy: although the US and Europe localize, their operating costs are about 40% higher than Asia's; India ranks first among candidate locations with a semiconductor manufacturing attractiveness index of 4.68; Malaysia holds about 13% of the world's back-end packaging-and-testing share and offers a 5-year corporate tax exemption; and Vietnam plans to cultivate 50,000 semiconductor technicians from 2023 to 2030. The supply-chain risk of data center assets is rooted precisely in this tug-of-war between concentration and dispersal (PRTIMES #1176731).

Q: What are the investment risks of data centers as an asset class?

**Five major risks: (1) the 2030 market size and AI share are both JLL projections, not realized; (2) the geopolitical risk of over 63% of the front-end concentrated in Taiwan and South Korea in 2026; (3) if power capacity cannot keep pace it will limit DC operational availability; (4) most hard figures come from corporate self-reporting / consultant reports, not official financial reports; (5) TSMC's capacity growth rate from 2022 to 2027 is a company planning value not third-party verified.**

The main risks include: (1) the DC market's 6.7% CAGR, USD 33.4 billion, the 50% AI share, and the USD 3 trillion infrastructure investment from 2025 to 2030 are all JLL projections, heavily influenced by the pace of AI demand and interest rates; (2) the geographic concentration of over 63% of the front-end in Taiwan and South Korea in 2026, where geopolitics or natural disasters could simultaneously impact compute supply; (3) DC electricity consumption growing rapidly from 2025 to 2030, where insufficient storage and grid resilience will become a hard constraint on operational availability; (4) most hard figures in this batch come from JLL in-house analysis, consultant reports (Kearney), and PR and CNA media coverage, not exchange or official financial-report filings; (5) TSMC's CoWoS compound annual growth rate exceeding 80% from 2022 to 2027 and similar figures are company planning values not third-party verified.

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F-Units

F-001: The Osaka-area data center transacted has a scale of 40.5 megawatts (MW) - source: PRTIMES #1189473 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000587.000006263.html - confidence: high - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06 - caveat: Transaction-support disclosure released by JLL in-house

F-002: The data center transaction value was JPY 156 billion (about USD 1 billion, on a 100% interest basis) - source: PRTIMES #1189473 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000587.000006263.html - confidence: high - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06 - caveat: Released by JLL in-house; the largest single-DC transaction in Japan's domestic market

F-002a: The buyer was Singapore's real estate investment trust CapitaLand Ascendas REIT - source: PRTIMES #1189473 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000587.000006263.html - confidence: high - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06

F-003: Japan's data center market is the world's 2nd-largest among advanced economies, behind only the United States - source: PRTIMES #1189473 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000587.000006263.html - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06 - caveat: This is JLL's analytical view, not a determination by a third-party ranking organization

F-004: Japan's data center market reached USD 23.4 billion in 2024 - source: PRTIMES #1189473 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000587.000006263.html - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2024 - caveat: JLL market analysis figure

F-005: Japan's DC market is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7% from 2025 to 2030, reaching USD 33.4 billion by 2030 - source: PRTIMES #1189473 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000587.000006263.html - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2025–2030 projection - caveat: This is a JLL projection, not a realized figure

F-006: Within total DC processing capacity, AI-related processing demand is projected to double from 25% in 2025 to 50% by 2030 - source: PRTIMES #1189473 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000587.000006263.html - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2025–2030 projection - caveat: This is a JLL projection (doubling = 25% → 50%), not a realized figure

F-007: To support DC demand, about USD 3 trillion in infrastructure investment will be needed globally before the end of 2030 - source: PRTIMES #1189473 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000587.000006263.html - confidence: low - basis: official_statement - period: projection through end of 2030 - caveat: This is a JLL projection; the scale is enormous and the time horizon long, with high uncertainty

F-008: JLL operates in over 80 countries, with about 113,000 employees (as of March 31, 2026) and 2025 revenue of USD 26.1 billion - source: PRTIMES #1189473 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000587.000006263.html - confidence: high - basis: official_statement - period: as of March 31, 2026 / FY2025 - caveat: JLL company-profile figures

F-009: TSMC's advanced packaging plants are already deployed across 5 sites in Taiwan — Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, and Tainan (Chiayi under construction; reported Erlin evaluation unconfirmed) - source: CNA #1177066 - source_url: https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606230098.aspx - confidence: medium - basis: news_aggregation - ticker: 2330 - period: 2026-06-23 - caveat: The Erlin plant is an unconfirmed media report; this data is CNA media aggregation, not an official TWSE filing

F-010: TSMC plans a CoWoS advanced packaging capacity compound annual growth rate exceeding 80% from 2022 to 2027, and an SoIC capacity compound annual growth rate exceeding 90% - source: CNA #1177066 - source_url: https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606230098.aspx - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - ticker: 2330 - period: 2022–2027 plan - caveat: These are TSMC company planning values, not third-party verified; relayed by CNA

F-011: TSMC plans to invest in and build 2 advanced packaging plants in Arizona, USA, and has signed a 10-year cooperation agreement with Amkor - source: CNA #1177066 - source_url: https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606230098.aspx - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - ticker: 2330 - period: 2026-06-23 - caveat: Company plan relayed by CNA media

F-012: Taiwan and South Korea together hold over 63% of the world semiconductor front-end (front-stage wafer fabrication) - source: PRTIMES #1176731 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000102.000046861.html - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06-23 - caveat: Kearney consultant-report analysis figure

F-013: Semiconductor operating costs in the US and Europe are about 40% higher than in the Asian region - source: PRTIMES #1176731 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000102.000046861.html - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06-23 - caveat: Kearney analysis figure

F-014: India ranks first among candidate locations with a semiconductor manufacturing attractiveness index of 4.68 - source: PRTIMES #1176731 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000102.000046861.html - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06-23 - caveat: This is a Kearney index value, a subjective scoring-model result

F-015: Malaysia holds about 13% of the world's back-end packaging-and-testing share and offers electronics-equipment plants a 5-year corporate tax exemption - source: PRTIMES #1176731 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000102.000046861.html - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06-23 - caveat: Kearney report figures

F-016: Vietnam plans to cultivate 50,000 semiconductor specialist technicians from 2023 to 2030 - source: PRTIMES #1176731 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000102.000046861.html - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2023–2030 plan - caveat: This is a Vietnamese government cultivation plan, cited in the Kearney report

F-017: The Sendai "NC Sendai Aoba-ku Kamiaishi Storage Facility" has a rated scale of 1,998kW・8,146kWh - source: PRTIMES #1177735 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000079.000161802.html - confidence: high - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06 - caveat: PR release by Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd. in-house

F-018: The grid-scale storage facility was put into operation in the supply-demand adjustment market starting June 23, 2026 - source: PRTIMES #1177735 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000079.000161802.html - confidence: high - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06-23

F-019: The Sendai storage facility's storage-battery system is supplied by TMEIC, and its batteries are sourced from CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology) - source: PRTIMES #1177735 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000079.000161802.html - confidence: high - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06

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J-Units

J-001: Data centers are shifting from "tech companies' cost centers / infrastructure expenditure" to "a real estate asset class that institutional investors allocate to directly" — Osaka's 40.5MW bought by a REIT for JPY 156 billion marks DCs entering the institutional-grade real estate market on par with office buildings and logistics warehouses - confidence: medium - basis_f_units: F-001, F-002, F-002a, F-003

J-002: The core driver of DC market growth has shifted from "general cloud load" to "AI processing demand" — AI's share of total DC processing capacity doubling from 25% to 50% (2025→2030) means DC asset valuation and site-selection logic will increasingly be dominated by the power and cooling demands of AI compute - confidence: medium - basis_f_units: F-005, F-006, F-007

J-003: As an asset, the physical support of data centers traces back to Taiwan's "packaging capacity × front-end concentration" — DC compute's source depends heavily on TSMC advanced packaging (5-site deployment, CoWoS over 80% growth) and Taiwan-South Korea's over 63% front-end share, making DC assets' supply-chain risk highly coupled with Taiwan's semiconductor geography - confidence: medium - basis_f_units: F-009, F-010, F-012

J-004: Power is becoming a hard constraint and new infrastructure battleground for DC assets — the electricity fluctuations driven up by AI turn grid-scale storage (Sendai 1,998kW) from a peripheral facility into a key layer of DC operational availability, elevating "power" together with "land" to the status of scarce production factors in the semiconductor and AI supply chain - confidence: medium - basis_f_units: F-007, F-017, F-018

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P-Units

P-001: Whether CapitaLand Ascendas REIT continues to expand its DC asset allocation in Japan — this is a single-asset transaction, and it is necessary to track whether the REIT lists DCs as a long-term asset class to increase, to verify whether "DC asset-ization" is a trend or an isolated case - status: open

P-002: Whether JLL's projected USD 33.4 billion DC market and 50% AI share for 2030 materialize — this is the core assumption driving DC asset valuation, and it is necessary to track actual AI compute demand and the pace of infrastructure investment - status: open

P-003: The actual production timeline of TSMC's 2 advanced packaging plants in Arizona and its 10-year cooperation with Amkor — this will determine whether the DC compute supply chain truly diversifies, affecting the evolution of Taiwan-South Korea's 63% front-end concentration - status: open

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同事件・三視角 / Three Perspectives on the Same Event / 同一イベント・三つの視点

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Internal Citation Chain

Published ANK-Docs cited in this article: - **ANK-2026-06-24-002** (AI Data Center Construction Boom Drives Taiwan's Heavy-Electric Industry to Record Highs) → This article's "Physical Triangle, Part Three (Power)" and #2's "heavy-electric transformer demand" both belong to the physical transmission of DC power infrastructure: #2 describes the transformer / switchgear demand driven by AI, while this article adds the grid-scale storage layer of power dispatch, the two together forming the power foundation behind DC assets.

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Sources

1. [PRTIMES #1189473] JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle K.K.), "JLL Supports Japan's Largest Domestic-Market Data Center Transaction in the Osaka Area", 2026-06-24. https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000587.000006263.html 2. [CNA #1177066] Central News Agency, "TSMC Advanced Packaging Plants Blossom Across 5 Sites; Reported Erlin Site Evaluation Unconfirmed", 2026-06-23. https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606230098.aspx 3. [PRTIMES #1176731] Kearney (A.T. Kearney), "Semiconductor Front-End: Taiwan and South Korea Hold Over 63%, Diversification Under Consideration Becomes the Focus", 2026-06-23. https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000102.000046861.html 4. [PRTIMES #1177735] Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd., "Grid-Scale Storage Facility 'NC Sendai Aoba-ku Kamiaishi Storage Facility' Begins Operation in the Supply-Demand Adjustment Market in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture", 2026-06-23. https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000079.000161802.html 5. [ANK-2026-06-24-002] Rin Takenouchi, "AI Data Center Construction Boom Drives Taiwan's Heavy-Electric Industry to Record Highs", 2026-06-24. https://ainews.washinmura.jp/ainews/zh/ank/ANK-2026-06-24-002

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📊 引用級事實單元（F-Units）

The Osaka-area data center transacted has a scale of 40.5 megawatts (MW)
F-001 · Confidence: high · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1189473 2026-06
The data center transaction value was JPY 156 billion (about USD 1 billion, on a 100% interest basis)
F-002 · Confidence: high · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1189473 2026-06
The buyer was Singapore's real estate investment trust CapitaLand Ascendas REIT
F-002a · Confidence: high · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1189473 2026-06
Japan's data center market is the world's 2nd-largest among advanced economies, behind only the United States
F-003 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1189473 2026-06
Japan's data center market reached USD 23.4 billion in 2024
F-004 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1189473 2024
Japan's DC market is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7% from 2025 to 2030, reaching USD 33.4 billion by 2030
F-005 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1189473 2025–2030 projection
Within total DC processing capacity, AI-related processing demand is projected to double from 25% in 2025 to 50% by 2030
F-006 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1189473 2025–2030 projection
To support DC demand, about USD 3 trillion in infrastructure investment will be needed globally before the end of 2030
F-007 · Confidence: low · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1189473 projection through end of 2030
JLL operates in over 80 countries, with about 113,000 employees (as of March 31, 2026) and 2025 revenue of USD 26.1 billion
F-008 · Confidence: high · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1189473 as of March 31, 2026 / FY2025
TSMC's advanced packaging plants are already deployed across 5 sites in Taiwan — Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, and Tainan (Chiayi under construction; reported Erlin evaluation unconfirmed)
F-009 · Confidence: medium · Basis: news_aggregation CNA #1177066 2330 2026-06-23
TSMC plans a CoWoS advanced packaging capacity compound annual growth rate exceeding 80% from 2022 to 2027, and an SoIC capacity compound annual growth rate exceeding 90%
F-010 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement CNA #1177066 2330 2022–2027 plan
TSMC plans to invest in and build 2 advanced packaging plants in Arizona, USA, and has signed a 10-year cooperation agreement with Amkor
F-011 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement CNA #1177066 2330 2026-06-23
Taiwan and South Korea together hold over 63% of the world semiconductor front-end (front-stage wafer fabrication)
F-012 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1176731 2026-06-23
Semiconductor operating costs in the US and Europe are about 40% higher than in the Asian region
F-013 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1176731 2026-06-23
India ranks first among candidate locations with a semiconductor manufacturing attractiveness index of 4.68
F-014 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1176731 2026-06-23
Malaysia holds about 13% of the world's back-end packaging-and-testing share and offers electronics-equipment plants a 5-year corporate tax exemption
F-015 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1176731 2026-06-23
Vietnam plans to cultivate 50,000 semiconductor specialist technicians from 2023 to 2030
F-016 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1176731 2023–2030 plan
The Sendai "NC Sendai Aoba-ku Kamiaishi Storage Facility" has a rated scale of 1,998kW・8,146kWh
F-017 · Confidence: high · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1177735 2026-06
The grid-scale storage facility was put into operation in the supply-demand adjustment market starting June 23, 2026
F-018 · Confidence: high · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1177735 2026-06-23
The Sendai storage facility's storage-battery system is supplied by TMEIC, and its batteries are sourced from CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology)
F-019 · Confidence: high · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1177735 2026-06

❓ FAQ

Why is it said that "data centers become an asset class"?

**Because institutional investors (REITs) have begun allocating to data centers as directly tradable real estate: a 40.5MW data center in the Osaka area sold for JPY 156 billion (about USD 1 billion), with Singapore's CapitaLand Ascendas REIT as buyer, setting Japan's largest single-asset record.** In the past, data centers were mostly built and held by cloud operators and viewed as cost and infrastructure. In June 2026, JLL supported the completion of Japan's largest domestic DC transaction: a 40.5MW data center in the Osaka area changed hands for JPY 156 billion (about USD 1 billion, on a 100% interest basis), with Singapore's real estate investment trust CapitaLand Ascendas REIT as buyer. When a REIT buys a DC directly, it signifies that DCs have become an institutional-grade real estate asset class on par with office buildings and logistics warehouses (PRTIMES #1189473).

How large is Japan's data center market?

**Japan is the world's 2nd-largest DC market among advanced economies, behind only the United States, reaching USD 23.4 billion in 2024, and projected to expand at a 6.7% compound annual growth rate from 2025 to 2030, reaching USD 33.4 billion by 2030.** JLL analysis indicates that Japan's data center market ranks 2nd-largest in the world among advanced economies, behind only the United States. The market reached USD 23.4 billion in 2024, and is projected to keep expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7% from 2025 to 2030, reaching USD 33.4 billion by 2030. Within this, AI-related processing demand is projected to double from 25% of total processing capacity in 2025 to 50% by 2030 (PRTIMES #1189473).

What role does Taiwan play in this data center chain?

**Taiwan is the physical source of DC compute: TSMC's advanced packaging plants are deployed across 5 sites, CoWoS capacity grows at a compound annual growth rate exceeding 80% from 2022 to 2027, and in 2026 Taiwan and South Korea together hold over 63% of the global wafer front-end.** A data center's compute ultimately traces back to chips. TSMC's advanced packaging plants are already deployed across 5 sites in Taiwan — Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, and Tainan (with Chiayi under construction), with CoWoS advanced packaging capacity growing at a compound annual growth rate exceeding 80% from 2022 to 2027 and SoIC exceeding 90%. In the front-end (front-stage wafer fabrication), Kearney analysis finds that Taiwan and South Korea together hold over 63% of the world semiconductor front-end. Taiwan thus forms the physical support of "packaging + front-end" behind DC assets (CNA #1177066, PRTIMES #1176731).

How is the power demand of data centers met?

**By grid-scale storage filling the AI-driven power gap: Japan Storage Battery brought a 1,998kW・8,146kWh grid-scale storage facility online in Sendai, putting it into operation in the electricity supply-demand adjustment market starting June 23, 2026.** AI training and inference sharply drive up DC electricity load and require dispatchable, stable power. Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd. brought the "NC Sendai Aoba-ku Kamiaishi Storage Facility" online in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, rated at 1,998kW・8,146kWh, putting it into operation in the supply-demand adjustment market starting June 23, 2026, with the storage-battery system supplied by TMEIC and batteries sourced from CATL. Grid-scale storage facilities are precisely the physical layer that absorbs DC electricity fluctuations and converts renewable energy into dispatchable power (PRTIMES #1177735).

What are the risks of the semiconductor supply chain being overly concentrated in Taiwan and South Korea?

**Taiwan and South Korea holding over 63% of the global front-end forms a systemic risk, prompting countries to actively diversify: US-Europe operating costs are about 40% higher, India ranks first with an attractiveness index of 4.68, and Vietnam plans to cultivate 50,000 technicians.** Kearney analysis indicates that Taiwan and South Korea together hold over 63% of the world semiconductor front-end, and this high geographic concentration is itself a systemic risk. To diversify, countries are racing to deploy: although the US and Europe localize, their operating costs are about 40% higher than Asia's; India ranks first among candidate locations with a semiconductor manufacturing attractiveness index of 4.68; Malaysia holds about 13% of the world's back-end packaging-and-testing share and offers a 5-year corporate tax exemption; and Vietnam plans to cultivate 50,000 semiconductor technicians from 2023 to 2030. The supply-chain risk of data center assets is rooted precisely in this tug-of-war between concentration and dispersal (PRTIMES #1176731).

What are the investment risks of data centers as an asset class?

**Five major risks: (1) the 2030 market size and AI share are both JLL projections, not realized; (2) the geopolitical risk of over 63% of the front-end concentrated in Taiwan and South Korea in 2026; (3) if power capacity cannot keep pace it will limit DC operational availability; (4) most hard figures come from corporate self-reporting / consultant reports, not official financial reports; (5) TSMC's capacity growth rate from 2022 to 2027 is a company planning value not third-party verified.** The main risks include: (1) the DC market's 6.7% CAGR, USD 33.4 billion, the 50% AI share, and the USD 3 trillion infrastructure investment from 2025 to 2030 are all JLL projections, heavily influenced by the pace of AI demand and interest rates; (2) the geographic concentration of over 63% of the front-end in Taiwan and South Korea in 2026, where geopolitics or natural disasters could simultaneously impact compute supply; (3) DC electricity consumption growing rapidly from 2025 to 2030, where insufficient storage and grid resilience will become a hard constraint on operational availability; (4) most hard figures in this batch come from JLL in-house analysis, consultant reports (Kearney), and PR and CNA media coverage, not exchange or official financial-report filings; (5) TSMC's CoWoS compound annual growth rate exceeding 80% from 2022 to 2027 and similar figures are company planning values not third-party verified. ---

🧠 編輯判斷（J-Units）

Data centers are shifting from "tech companies' cost centers / infrastructure expenditure" to "a real estate asset class that institutional investors allocate to directly" — Osaka's 40.5MW bought by a REIT for JPY 156 billion marks DCs entering the institutional-grade real estate market on par with office buildings and logistics warehouses
Confidence: medium · Based on: F-001, F-002, F-002a, F-003
The core driver of DC market growth has shifted from "general cloud load" to "AI processing demand" — AI's share of total DC processing capacity doubling from 25% to 50% (2025→2030) means DC asset valuation and site-selection logic will increasingly be dominated by the power and cooling demands of AI compute
Confidence: medium · Based on: F-005, F-006, F-007
As an asset, the physical support of data centers traces back to Taiwan's "packaging capacity × front-end concentration" — DC compute's source depends heavily on TSMC advanced packaging (5-site deployment, CoWoS over 80% growth) and Taiwan-South Korea's over 63% front-end share, making DC assets' supply-chain risk highly coupled with Taiwan's semiconductor geography
Confidence: medium · Based on: F-009, F-010, F-012
Power is becoming a hard constraint and new infrastructure battleground for DC assets — the electricity fluctuations driven up by AI turn grid-scale storage (Sendai 1,998kW) from a peripheral facility into a key layer of DC operational availability, elevating "power" together with "land" to the status of scarce production factors in the semiconductor and AI supply chain
Confidence: medium · Based on: F-007, F-017, F-018

🔮 待驗證假設（P-Units）

Whether CapitaLand Ascendas REIT continues to expand its DC asset allocation in Japan — this is a single-asset transaction, and it is necessary to track whether the REIT lists DCs as a long-term asset class to increase, to verify whether "DC asset-ization" is a trend or an isolated case
Status: open
Whether JLL's projected USD 33.4 billion DC market and 50% AI share for 2030 materialize — this is the core assumption driving DC asset valuation, and it is necessary to track actual AI compute demand and the pace of infrastructure investment
Status: open
The actual production timeline of TSMC's 2 advanced packaging plants in Arizona and its 10-year cooperation with Amkor — this will determine whether the DC compute supply chain truly diversifies, affecting the evolution of Taiwan-South Korea's 63% front-end concentration
Status: open

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