US facility · Optical fiber cable
Fujikura plans up to ¥260 billion to make fiber-optic cable in the US for AI data centers
- Company
- Fujikura (Tokyo)
- Project
- US optical fiber cable production (site not yet chosen), United States
- Value
- Up to ¥260B (plan for fiscal 2026–2028)
- Status
- Announced in Fujikura's mid-term plan on May 19, 2026. A US subsidiary, Fujikura Optical Cable Systems (Delaware), was due to be set up in June 2026. Investment will come in stages, with output from around 2030.
- Date
- 2026-05-19
Fujikura will invest up to ¥260 billion in the United States to make optical fiber cable, as part of a plan to raise its cable capacity to about four times fiscal 2022 levels. It is setting up a US subsidiary in Delaware to prepare the investment and has not yet chosen a site.
Why it matters
AI data centers need huge amounts of fiber, and Fujikura's high-density cables are in short supply. Making them in the US puts the company next to its biggest customers.
The plan
Fujikura set out the US plan in its fiscal 2026–2028 mid-term plan on May 19, 2026, which earmarks about ¥530 billion for strategic and growth investment. Up to ¥300 billion of that goes to fiber cable capacity: up to ¥260 billion in the US and about ¥40 billion for a new plant in Sakura, Chiba, due to start in December 2030. Spending will come in stages, depending on demand. The lines will make optical fiber cable, including SWR/WTC, Fujikura's own ultra-high-density cable.
Why the US
CEO Naoki Okada said US data center demand is enormous and that fiber use will grow explosively. In October 2025, Fujikura signed a framework agreement with the US Commerce Department under the US–Japan strategic investment memorandum, which named it a supplier of fiber cable for US AI infrastructure.
Choosing a site
Okada said the site will be chosen after weighing access to raw materials, energy including hydrogen, and government support. Output is planned from around 2030, with full production targeted for fiscal 2035.
Sources
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