Taihei

Overview

Taihei is a trans-Pacific submarine cable system connecting Japan and the United States across approximately 7,000 kilometres of the Pacific Ocean. The system is planned for service in 2027 and is owned entirely by Google. It provides a direct link between the Japanese coast and the Hawaiian Islands, serving one of the world's most active digital corridors.

Route and Landings

In Japan, Taihei lands at Takahagi, a coastal city in Ibaraki Prefecture northeast of Tokyo.

In the United States, the cable comes ashore at Kapolei, located on the western coast of Oahu, Hawaii.

Ownership and Operators

Taihei is wholly owned by Google. Google has been an active developer of private submarine cable infrastructure across the Pacific and Atlantic, building a portfolio of proprietary systems to support its global network and cloud services.

Technical Profile

At 7,000 kilometres, Taihei sits above the midpoint in length among cables serving the Japan–United States corridor, exceeding 53% of the other cable systems operating between these two countries.

Status and Timeline

Taihei is planned for readiness in 2027. The system is not yet in service.

Regional Context

The Japan–United States trans-Pacific corridor is among the most heavily served submarine cable routes, with dozens of systems landing across both countries. Taihei, at 7,000 kilometres, is considerably shorter than established long-haul systems in this corridor such as EAC-C2C and the Southern Cross Cable Network, reflecting its more direct Japan-to-Hawaii geometry rather than multi-segment regional designs. Among newer additions to this corridor, Bulikula is also planned for service around the same period.

Performance measurements recorded over a recent 60-day window show an average round-trip latency of 21.9 milliseconds through Taihei, with a best recorded result of 10.1 milliseconds across 31 ping tests.

Strategic Role

By connecting Takahagi in Japan directly to Kapolei in Hawaii, Taihei provides a Google-operated path across the central Pacific. Hawaii functions as a natural hub in trans-Pacific routing, and a landing at Kapolei allows onward connectivity toward the continental United States. The cable adds a privately controlled route between two of the most cable-dense national landing environments in the Asia-Pacific and North American regions.