Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) announced new findings from its latest State of Cloud Native Development in Japan report in collaboration with SlashData.
The research highlights the continued growth of Japan's cloud native ecosystem driven by the demand for AI, the country's distinct infrastructure strategy and the increasing maturity of platform engineering across software development. New research finds 100,000 of Japan's AI developers now leverage cloud native technologies.
Key Highlights:
CNCF and SlashData released the State of Cloud Native Development in Japan report, highlighting Japan's unique path to cloud native adoption, platform engineering maturity and the growing role of AI infrastructure.
The State of Cloud Native Development in Japan report estimates Japan is home to approximately 950,000 cloud native developers as of Q1 2026.
Despite on-prem infrastructure remaining dominant, Japan's cloud native adoption now slightly exceeds the global average.
Japan's cloud native community continues to grow
The report found that approximately 950,000 developers in Japan are now cloud native, representing 41% of the country's developer population, slightly above the global average of 39%.
Cloud native adoption has increased significantly over the past two years, reflecting growing awareness and use of cloud native technologies across Japan's software industry.
Japan follows a unique path to cloud native adoption
Unlike most global markets, Japan continues to rely heavily on on-premises (on-prem) infrastructure while maintaining cloud native maturity comparable to the rest of the world.
Nearly half (47%) of developers report deploying to on-premises servers, while hybrid cloud adoption stands at 16%.
The findings suggest Japanese organizations are increasingly incorporating cloud native technologies within existing enterprise infrastructure rather than relying exclusively on public cloud environments.
Platform engineering continues to mature while AI drives the next phase
The report highlights continued advances in platform engineering across Japan's software industry.
88% of backend developers now work within standardized DevOps or platform engineering environments, up from 80% six months earlier, while 71% use at least one cloud native technology or practice.
The research also estimates that approximately 100,000 AI developers in Japan are cloud native, reinforcing the growing role of cloud native technologies in supporting production AI workloads.
Jonathan Bryce, executive director, CNCF
In Japan, the focus is shifting from the novelty of AI models to the operational reality of production. The data confirms that AI is a driving factor for cloud native adoption with high-scale inference demands for observability and scalability that only a cloud native infrastructure stack can provide. As organizations increasingly recognize Kubernetes as the standard operating system for AI, we are focused on solving these operational and physical infrastructure challenges together.
Noriaki Fukuyasu, vice president of Japan operations, The Linux Foundation
Japan's cloud native community is entering an exciting new phase of growth as AI drives demand for modern, open infrastructure. Organizations are looking beyond AI applications to the platforms that power them, creating greater interest in cloud native technologies like Kubernetes and the skills needed to deploy AI at scale. This momentum is helping strengthen Japan's open source community while preparing the country for the next generation of innovation.
Liam Bollmann-Dodd, principal market research consultant, SlashData
Japan demonstrates that there is no single path to cloud native maturity. Organizations are successfully modernizing while balancing existing infrastructure investments, and platform engineering is making cloud native technologies accessible to more developers regardless of the underlying deployment model.
