Alibaba Cloud Announces Fifth Data Center in Japan and Launches New AI Model Service Platform to Expand AI Infrastructure
Key facts
- Alibaba Cloud Announces Fifth Data Center in Japan and Launches New AI Model Service Platform to Expand AI Infrastructure
- Alibaba Cloud has announced the opening of its fifth data center in Japan, located in Tokyo, and launched its enterprise-grade AI development platform Model Studio. The expansion enables Japanese enterprises and developers to access cutting-edge AI models such as Qwen3.7-Plus in a secure, scalable domestic environment, reinforcing Alibaba Cloud's commitment to Japan's digital transformation and agentive AI leadership.
- Source: PR Times
- Date: June 18, 2026
Direct answer
Alibaba Cloud has announced the opening of its fifth data center in Japan, located in Tokyo, and launched its enterprise-grade AI development platform Model Studio. The expansion enables Japanese enterprises and developers to access cutting-edge AI models such as Qwen3.7-Plus in a secure, scalable domestic environment, reinforcing Alibaba Cloud's commitment to Japan's digital transformation and agentive AI leadership.
- Citation
- Alibaba Cloud Announces Fifth Data Center in Japan and Launches New AI Model Service Platform to Expand AI Infrastructure (June 18, 2026), PR Times
- Source
- PR Times
- Date
- June 18, 2026
Alibaba Cloud has announced the opening of its fifth data center in Japan, located in Tokyo, and launched its enterprise-grade AI development platform Model Studio. The expansion enables Japanese enterprises and developers to access cutting-edge AI models such as Qwen3.7-Plus in a secure, scalable domestic environment, reinforcing Alibaba Cloud's commitment to Japan's digital transformation and agentive AI leadership.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: June 18, 2026 at 19:30
- 🔍 Collected: June 18, 2026 at 10:48
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: June 19, 2026 at 10:00 (23h 12m after Collected)
Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and data intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, today announced the opening of its fifth data center in Japan. Located in Tokyo, the new facility is designed to meet growing domestic demand from key sectors such as retail, gaming, entertainment, and manufacturing, by delivering advanced cloud and AI solutions to seize business opportunities in the era of agentive AI.
Operational just months after Alibaba Cloud opened its fourth Japanese data center in March 2026, the new center delivers enterprise-grade, comprehensive cloud computing services, including elastic computing, storage, container services, networking, security, databases, and advanced developer tools. Built on strict data privacy and security standards, Alibaba Cloud’s Japan region now comprises five data centers, supporting Japanese enterprises with enhanced availability, operational resilience, and business continuity.
This expansion further strengthens Alibaba Cloud’s global network, now spanning 105 availability zones across 32 regions, reinforcing its commitment to providing a secure, scalable, and sustainable foundation for digital transformation worldwide.
To meet rising demand for AI infrastructure, Alibaba Cloud has also launched its suite of AI-native data analytics and database services in Japan. Key offerings include DataWorks Data Agent, an intelligent assistant that streamlines traditional data warehouse development, reducing development cycles from days to minutes. Additional AI-native database services include Data Agent for Analytics (for analytical insights), Meta (for data asset and knowledge management), DAS (for database operations and maintenance), and DataBridge (for data ingestion). These solutions support diverse use cases such as data analysis, enterprise data asset management, intelligent database operations in multi-cloud and multi-engine environments, and multimodal data preprocessing.
In response to growing enterprise adoption of AI agents, Alibaba Cloud has launched Model Studio—a one-stop, enterprise-grade AI development platform—in the Japan region. Notably, the Model Studio CLI (Command Line Interface) for AI agents supports a wide range of AI capabilities, including text chat, image and video generation and editing, and speech synthesis and recognition. Japanese enterprises and developers can now access Alibaba’s latest Qwen model, Qwen3.7-Plus, as well as third-party LLMs, via a secure, domestically hosted API environment with enterprise-grade security. Additionally, Alibaba’s video generation model HappyHorse and its multimodal model Qwen3.5-Omni will soon be available on Model Studio in Japan.
Qwen3.7-Plus: Alibaba’s most powerful multimodal agent model to date, featuring robust visual and language processing capabilities, and demonstrating strong agent performance in coding, tool usage, and productivity workflows.
HappyHorse: Alibaba’s video generation model designed to support the creation of cinematic-quality video content, empowering creative industries to bring ideas to life through AI-powered video generation.
Qwen3.5-Omni: A versatile model that handles recognition, reasoning, and generation across multiple modalities as a unified intelligence, suitable for diverse applications such as live streaming, intelligent voice assistants, and video captioning for gaming and entertainment.
Takashi Kurita, General Manager of Alibaba Cloud Japan and Korea, said:
"The opening of our fifth data center in Tokyo, combined with the local availability of Model Studio and access to the latest AI models, marks a significant milestone in our commitment to Japan’s digital growth. Demand from Japanese enterprises eager to leverage agentive AI for innovation and efficiency has never been higher. By delivering robust, secure, and scalable infrastructure alongside cutting-edge AI solutions, we aim to empower Japanese developers and businesses not only to adopt AI, but to lead in the era of agentive AI."
To unlock enterprise creativity and boost productivity, Alibaba Cloud plans to host a series of workshops, hackathons, and events in Japan over the coming months, targeting developers and startups focused on building production-ready AI agents.
Operational just months after Alibaba Cloud opened its fourth Japanese data center in March 2026, the new center delivers enterprise-grade, comprehensive cloud computing services, including elastic computing, storage, container services, networking, security, databases, and advanced developer tools. Built on strict data privacy and security standards, Alibaba Cloud’s Japan region now comprises five data centers, supporting Japanese enterprises with enhanced availability, operational resilience, and business continuity.
This expansion further strengthens Alibaba Cloud’s global network, now spanning 105 availability zones across 32 regions, reinforcing its commitment to providing a secure, scalable, and sustainable foundation for digital transformation worldwide.
To meet rising demand for AI infrastructure, Alibaba Cloud has also launched its suite of AI-native data analytics and database services in Japan. Key offerings include DataWorks Data Agent, an intelligent assistant that streamlines traditional data warehouse development, reducing development cycles from days to minutes. Additional AI-native database services include Data Agent for Analytics (for analytical insights), Meta (for data asset and knowledge management), DAS (for database operations and maintenance), and DataBridge (for data ingestion). These solutions support diverse use cases such as data analysis, enterprise data asset management, intelligent database operations in multi-cloud and multi-engine environments, and multimodal data preprocessing.
In response to growing enterprise adoption of AI agents, Alibaba Cloud has launched Model Studio—a one-stop, enterprise-grade AI development platform—in the Japan region. Notably, the Model Studio CLI (Command Line Interface) for AI agents supports a wide range of AI capabilities, including text chat, image and video generation and editing, and speech synthesis and recognition. Japanese enterprises and developers can now access Alibaba’s latest Qwen model, Qwen3.7-Plus, as well as third-party LLMs, via a secure, domestically hosted API environment with enterprise-grade security. Additionally, Alibaba’s video generation model HappyHorse and its multimodal model Qwen3.5-Omni will soon be available on Model Studio in Japan.
Qwen3.7-Plus: Alibaba’s most powerful multimodal agent model to date, featuring robust visual and language processing capabilities, and demonstrating strong agent performance in coding, tool usage, and productivity workflows.
HappyHorse: Alibaba’s video generation model designed to support the creation of cinematic-quality video content, empowering creative industries to bring ideas to life through AI-powered video generation.
Qwen3.5-Omni: A versatile model that handles recognition, reasoning, and generation across multiple modalities as a unified intelligence, suitable for diverse applications such as live streaming, intelligent voice assistants, and video captioning for gaming and entertainment.
Takashi Kurita, General Manager of Alibaba Cloud Japan and Korea, said:
"The opening of our fifth data center in Tokyo, combined with the local availability of Model Studio and access to the latest AI models, marks a significant milestone in our commitment to Japan’s digital growth. Demand from Japanese enterprises eager to leverage agentive AI for innovation and efficiency has never been higher. By delivering robust, secure, and scalable infrastructure alongside cutting-edge AI solutions, we aim to empower Japanese developers and businesses not only to adopt AI, but to lead in the era of agentive AI."
To unlock enterprise creativity and boost productivity, Alibaba Cloud plans to host a series of workshops, hackathons, and events in Japan over the coming months, targeting developers and startups focused on building production-ready AI agents.
FAQ
How many data centers does Alibaba Cloud have in Japan?
Alibaba Cloud operates five data centers in Japan.
Which AI models are available on Model Studio?
Qwen3.7-Plus, HappyHorse, and Qwen3.5-Omni are available.
What services does the new data center offer?
It offers elastic computing, storage, and AI development tools.
What benefits do Japanese enterprises gain?
Access to cutting-edge AI models in a secure, local environment.
What is the scale of Alibaba Cloud's global network?
It spans 105 availability zones across 32 regions.