Japan Launches World’s First National AI Infrastructure with NVIDIA

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to deploy approximately 10 million AI-powered robots across 18 industries by 2040, addressing the country's growing labor shortage, according to NHK. Credit: NVIDIA

The Japanese government, along with industry leaders and NVIDIA, has launched what it calls the "world's first national AI infrastructure," designed to support physical AI applications.

NVIDIA has announced a partnership with the Japanese AI consortium Noetra to launch an NVIDIA Vera Rubin AI factory, supporting the Japanese government's ambitions for physical AI.

The initiative is backed by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) under its FRONTia Project.

NVIDIA states that this represents the world's first national AI infrastructure for physical AI, aimed at strengthening Japan's AI ecosystem—supporting AI agents, digital twins, and Japan's newly released targets for industrial robotics.

Japan's AI Robotics Strategy, released in March 2026, sets a target for the country to capture over 30% of the global AI robotics market by 2040, representing an estimated US$133 billion opportunity.

Japan is the world's leading industrial robot manufacturer, delivering 45% of the global supply, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). However, China is emerging as a key player, now the world's largest robotics market, representing 54% of global deployments.

“Japan has launched the FRONTia Project, which will serve as the core of the country's physical AI ecosystem.” — Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

Data Center Capacity for Physical AI

NVIDIA announced a partnership with Noetra to build the NVIDIA Vera Rubin AI factory, featuring 13,750 Vera CPUs and 27,500 Rubin GPUs.

Noetra is an AI consortium backed by the Japanese government, with private sector supporters including Honda and Softbank. NVIDIA is providing the hardware and compute foundation for the project, which is set to accelerate Japan's AI ambitions.

Physical AI applications, such as robotics, require substantial electrical grid power to support the advanced AI chips needed to run them. The project is expected to deliver 140 MW of data center capacity based on NVIDIA's DSX platform.

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, says: “Japan invented modern manufacturing. Now, it is building the AI factories that will power the next industrial revolution.”

Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, at GTC 2026 (Credit: NVIDIA)

“NVIDIA is honored to partner with Japan and its industrial leaders to build the AI infrastructure that will power the country's industries, its economy, and a new generation of innovation.”

The initiative aims to strengthen the country's AI ecosystem across a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and telecommunications.

The Computing Foundation

The new AI factory, established by Japan's Noetra, will be built with NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 racks using the NVIDIA DSX platform, connected and scaled with NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet networking.

It will enable the development of open multimodal foundation models that power AI agents, digital twins, robotics, and other physical AI applications.

The NVIDIA Vera Rubin AI factory will serve as the computing foundation for Japan's FRONTia Project.

“Bringing physical AI into the real world requires enormous computing power, data, and foundational technologies—challenges no single company can solve alone,” says Hironobu Tamba, CEO of Noetra.

Key Facts

• 295,000 industrial robots were installed in China in 2024
• Japan plans to introduce approximately 10 million AI-powered robots across 18 sectors by 2040
• Japan installed 44,500 industrial robots in 2024
• Japan aims to capture 30% of the global AI robotics market by 2040
• Japan is the world's leading industrial robot manufacturer, delivering 45% of the global supply

The FRONTia Project

The FRONTia project refers to the project titled Development of Multimodal Foundation Models with a View to AI Robotics and Physical AI, launched by METI.

Speaking about the collaboration with NVIDIA, Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, says: “Japan has launched the FRONTia Project, which will serve as the core of the country's physical AI ecosystem.

Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. Credit: Prime Minister's Office of Japan

"By fostering collaboration between Japan and leading global innovators, including NVIDIA, and leveraging Japan's strengths—such as its onsite expertise and manufacturing technology infrastructure—we will build highly reliable multimodal foundation models and contribute to solving global social challenges."

According to the Japanese news service NHK, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has decided to commission the project, worth ¥380 billion (US$2.3 billion), to Noetra and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.

Japan's Physical AI Ambitions

As Japan builds the computing and hardware capacity needed to power physical AI applications, its robotics strategy states that the country aims to capture over 30% of the global AI robotics market by 2040.

According to NHK, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to introduce approximately 10 million AI-powered robots across 18 sectors by 2040, addressing the country's growing labor shortage.

Japanese robotics manufacturer FANUC says that automation and robotization are actively promoted at its facilities. Credit: FANUC

While Japan remains the largest robot manufacturer, China leads in installations. The latest IFR figures show that 295,000 industrial robots were installed in China, while Japan, the second largest market for industrial robots, installed 44,500 units in 2024.

China's domestic manufacturing is also growing. According to the IFR's World Robotics 2025 Report, for the first time in 2024, Chinese manufacturers sold more factory robots than foreign manufacturers at home, with their market share climbing to 57% across industries, up from 47% in 2023.

Japan remains a major robotics exporter to China, with 36% of its exports of robotics and automation technology destined for China in 2020, according to the IFR.