New Relic to open first Japan data centre in Tokyo

New Relic will open a data centre in Japan in July 2026, expanding its Asia-Pacific footprint and giving Japanese customers a local option for data residency.

The facility will be based in Tokyo and will be New Relic's first in Japan. Japanese customers will be able to use the new region at launch, with access for other customers in the wider region expected later in 2026.

Data residency has become a central requirement for many organisations in regulated sectors, particularly where rules govern where data can be stored and processed. New Relic is positioning the Tokyo region as a domestic location for collecting, storing and processing observability data within Japan.

New Relic sells software that monitors applications and technology infrastructure, analysing telemetry data such as logs, metrics and traces. Companies use this data to identify performance issues and investigate incidents across digital services.

For organisations running distributed systems across multiple markets, a nearer data centre can reduce the distance telemetry data travels, improving responsiveness during analysis and troubleshooting. The Tokyo location will be available to all customers, with those closer to Japan more likely to see performance benefits.

Japanese demand has become a focus for global technology suppliers as more workloads move to cloud environments and companies modernise customer-facing digital services. The growth of AI-related projects has also increased the need for monitoring and governance, as businesses reassess the resilience and compliance of systems that process sensitive data.

Japan expansion

New Relic describes Japan as a fast-growing market and says it has held the top position in observability market share for seven years. Its Japanese customer base includes retail, manufacturing and telecommunications, with rising demand in financial services as well as infrastructure and public services.

Its local employee base in Japan grew by 20% over the past year. The Tokyo data centre investment is part of its broader approach to meeting local requirements, including security and privacy expectations.

Ashan Willy, New Relic's chief executive officer, linked the decision to data residency and governance needs in Japan, with an emphasis on performance and sovereignty.

"New Relic helps some of the most prominent Japanese companies bring impactful solutions to market. In the fast-moving AI era, observability is the engine behind Japan's legacy of high-performance technology," said Ashan Willy, Chief Executive Officer, New Relic. "Our new local data center is a strategic milestone that resolves data residency challenges, providing Japanese enterprises with the high-performance governance and data sovereignty required to maintain their global competitive edge."

Regulated sectors

The Tokyo region will act as a data residency hub for customers in industries such as finance and manufacturing, enabling them to manage domestic data residency by collecting, storing and processing data within Japan.

New Relic also says the local hosting model will align with Japanese security and privacy requirements and strict data residency rules. It positions the region as offering low latency for near real-time visibility into systems.

The move follows a broader pattern among global software providers, which increasingly deploy regional infrastructure to address local governance expectations. For some customers, local hosting can also reduce friction in procurement and risk reviews, particularly in public sector and critical infrastructure organisations that face heightened scrutiny.

Partner response

New Relic included statements from customers and partners in Japan that cite lower latency and regulatory compliance as key benefits. NTT DOCOMO said the shorter physical distance would improve service responsiveness while widening options for aligning with domestic rules.

"NTT DOCOMO welcomes the establishment of New Relic's Japan region. The launch of this local data center will enable us to benefit from low-latency services through reduced physical distance, while also expanding the possibilities for compliance with laws and regulatory requirements in Japan. We are confident that this will accelerate the enhancement of observability for Japanese enterprises that demand high reliability, including ourselves," said Yoshio Umezawa, Vice President, General Manager of Service Innovation Department, R&D Division, NTT DOCOMO.

Chugai Pharmaceutical highlighted domestic data governance and the integration of its log infrastructure with New Relic, calling the announcement long-awaited.

"We wholeheartedly welcome the launch of New Relic's first Japanese data center in Asia. Ensuring that our data remains within domestic borders has been a long-standing governance priority for us, making this a truly long-awaited announcement. By integrating our distributed log infrastructure into New Relic, we will finally achieve 'True Full-Stack Observability.' With this robust domestic foundation and data centralization, we look forward to further accelerating our digital transformation toward the creation of innovative medicines," said Keisuke Ohara, Head of Digital Solution Dept. Digital Transformation Unit, Chugai Pharmaceutical.

Systems integrators also pointed to demand in highly regulated segments. NTT DATA Intellilink said local data residency has been a key requirement for customers in finance, government and public infrastructure, and that the new region would broaden access to full-stack observability in those sectors.

SCSK linked the launch to its work in advanced IT services and said it expects greater flexibility in serving customers with stringent governance and security requirements.

New Relic will open the Tokyo data centre in July 2026, with wider availability for regional customers later in 2026.