Japan Faces Memory Shortage as Stores Ration SSDs, HDDs, and RAM
Major electronics retailers in Tokyo have begun rationing sales of SSDs, HDDs, and DRAM modules after a nationwide shortage hit Japan’s consumer hardware market.
Purchase Limits and Empty Shelves
Customers visiting Tokyo’s largest PC shops this week were met with notices restricting purchases to eight units per person. Some stores now allow larger quantities only when the buyer purchases a full desktop system. Staff report that popular SSD models and high-capacity RAM kits are sold out within hours of delivery.
Retailers cite an unprecedented surge in demand for storage components, driven primarily by the artificial-intelligence boom. The same high-performance NAND and DRAM chips used in consumer products are now being prioritized for AI data-center hardware, leaving traditional retail channels undersupplied.
Rising Prices and Supply Chain Pressure
Prices for DDR5 memory and high-speed solid-state drives have climbed by more than 70 percent since mid-summer, mirroring global trends. Local distributors warn that the shortage could intensify in early 2026 as enterprise buyers continue to stockpile chips for AI servers and edge-computing clusters.
A Tokyo-based reseller commented: “It’s the same pattern we saw during the GPU mining boom — but this time it’s AI consuming every chip we have.”
Economic and Global Impact
The scarcity has already begun to affect Japan’s system-builder and PC-repair markets, forcing delays in consumer orders and corporate hardware upgrades. Analysts expect ripple effects throughout Asia as major suppliers like Samsung and Micron divert shipments toward cloud-infrastructure clients rather than retail partners.
Industry experts predict that unless production capacity expands quickly, Japan could face intermittent component shortages over the next 12–18 months, potentially pushing prices to record highs once again.
Editorial Team — CoinBotLab