Goodman’s Japanese data center under fire following Sydney site setback

A construction site for one of the largest data center projects in Japan by Australian property group Goodman Group in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, earlier this month | reuters

Reuters

Oct 7, 2026

TSUKUBA, Ibaraki Pref. – Goodman Group, Australia’s largest property firm by market value, faces mounting criticism of what would be its largest data center project in Japan, just days after it scrapped plans for a similar development in Sydney following local resistance.

The dispute with residents in Japan is part of a broader global backlash against data centers, as local communities raise concerns about their impact on power grids, water supplies and local environments.

For Goodman, the stakes are high. The project is one of the largest foreign-backed digital infrastructure investments in Japan and is expected to become one of the country’s biggest data center campuses, with an eventual capacity of 1 gigawatt — equivalent to an estimated investment of about ¥3 trillion ($20 billion).

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