Japanese telecommunications provider IPS has announced plans to build a cable landing station (CLS) in the city of Wakayama, near Osaka, with an estimated investment of 23 billion yen ($141 million). The announcement, made on July 2, highlights Japan’s growing role as a hub for international subsea cable connectivity, particularly as demand for data transmission capacity continues to surge across the Asia-Pacific region.
The proposed facility is designed to serve as the landing point for a branch of the Candle subsea cable system, an 8,000-kilometer (4,971-mile) project led by SoftBank and Meta. First announced in 2025, Candle also involves IPS, Telkom Malaysia, and Indonesia’s XL Smart, and is slated to connect Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The system is scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2028.
According to IPS, the cost estimate for the Wakayama CLS includes expenses related to developing the branch of the Candle cable that will terminate at the station. The telco stated that it is commencing a feasibility study for the project with the “intention of commercializing the project,” signaling a strong commitment to expanding its subsea infrastructure footprint.
The Candle system is also expected to land at SoftBank’s existing Maruyama landing station in Minamiboso City, located at the southern tip of Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo. This dual-landing strategy could enhance network resilience and provide alternative routing options for traffic flowing into Japan’s major metropolitan areas.
Beyond its involvement in Candle, IPS also owns Infinivan, a consumer-focused network business based in the Philippines. The company’s investment in the Wakayama landing station underscores a broader trend among regional telcos and hyperscale cloud providers to secure dedicated subsea cable capacity, as data center buildouts and AI workloads drive unprecedented demand for high-bandwidth connectivity. Industry analysts note that such investments are critical for reducing latency and ensuring reliable data flows between key markets in Asia, particularly as Japan positions itself as a strategic interconnection point for transpacific and intra-Asia traffic.
Source: datacenterdynamics