Keywords Explained: Sovereign Cloud

Sovereign cloud refers to a cloud service that not only stores and manages data in accordance with the local laws and regulations of a specific country or region; it is also subject to access rights and operational policies under that same domestic legal framework. The sovereign cloud concept is gaining prominence given heightened national security and industrial competitiveness concerns.

In Japan, the importance of data sovereignty is being increasingly recognized in the 15 infrastructure sectors-including public administration, finance, healthcare and manufacturing-deemed critical by the Cabinet Office.

As global cloud services continue to expand, there are growing concerns that personal and confidential data could fall under the jurisdiction of foreign legal systems. To eliminate the influence of other countries' laws and regulations-and to avoid data disclosure requests or surveillance carried out by overseas cloud providers under their own national laws-it is becoming essential for countries to ensure that data residency and operations are fully contained within their own borders.

In Japan, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) is actively developing sovereign cloud infrastructure through initiatives such as deploying AI data centers across the nation and offering GPU-based services. These efforts are part of a broader initiative to promote Japan's technological independence and to build a highly advanced digital foundation for the country.

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(Posted on August 15, 2025)
by SoftBank News Editors