The United Arab Emirates is considering investing as much as ?1 trillion ($6.3 billion) to build an artificial intelligence data center in Japan, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment would lead the funding of a 500-megawatt project in Akita Prefecture, which may include other foreign and domestic investors, the person said, asking not to be identified because the information isn¡¯t public.

Once completed, it could become the largest data center in Japan. The talks with the Persian Gulf state underscore growing global interest in securing critical AI assets in countries viewed as relatively insulated from geopolitical tensions.

A spokesperson for Mubadala declined to comment. Japan¡¯s Nikkei newspaper earlier reported that the UAE was planning to build a data center in Akita.

Total investment surrounding the project, including by suppliers and other companies looking to establish operations nearby, could reach as much as ?2 trillion, the person said. A consortium of Japanese companies would likely handle construction and related infrastructure, they added.

As U.S.-China tensions escalate and wars in Europe and the Middle East reshape supply chains, Japan is increasingly viewed by global investors as a stable market with relatively low geopolitical risks.

To attract funding in strategic industries, the Japanese government is in the process of designating several regions including Akita Prefecture across the country as priority investment zones for sectors such as AI data centers and semiconductor manufacturing. It has also allocated massive financial support for related ventures.

Tokyo¡¯s policy has rendered some substantial results. Major chip firms including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Tower Semiconductor and Micron Technology have invested billions of dollars in the country in recent years. The country¡¯s biggest data center operator, NTT Data Group, said this week it plans to spend at least $9 billion through 2033 to boost computing capacity thanks to a surge in demand.

The oil-rich UAE, meanwhile, has emerged as one the leading global investors in AI and its underlying infrastructure.

State-backed investor MGX, which counts Mubadala and G42 as founding partners, has been a key vehicle through which Abu Dhabi bets on AI. MGX recently completed its acquisition of Aligned Data Centers, which has an enterprise value of $40 billion, alongside BlackRock¡¯s Global Infrastructure Platform and the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership.