Google is planning to invest $1 billion in creating two new subsea fiber cable routes between the US and Japan.

The cables will be called Proa and Taihei and will be built by Japan's NEC Corp.

In a blog post, Google revealed that the investment is in support of Google's Japan Digitization Initiative and is being conducted in partnership with KDDI, Arteria, and Citadel Pacific among others.

Proa will run from Japan to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam, while Taihei will connect Japan and Hawaii.

To increase resilience in the area, another cable currently under development by NEC for Google, the Taiwan-Philippines-US (TPU) cable, is also set to get an extension to the CNMI. It will also connect to Taiwan, the Philippines, Guam, and the US, and is set to go live in 2025.

According to the blog post, "Proa and TPU will together establish a new route between the continental US and Shima, Japan."

The Taihei cable will connect Japan to Hawaii. Taihei means peace and the Pacific Ocean in Japanese.

Meanwhile, the Tabu cable that is being built by SubCom for Google and set to go live in 2026 will add a stop at Hawaii along its route from the US to Fiji, and Australia.

"Once complete, the Taihei and Tabua systems will create a diverse path between the continental US to Takahagi, Japan," said Google.

Finally, the company is developing an interlink cable that will connect Hawaii, the CNMI, and Guam in order to further improve their reliability and reduce latency for users in the Pacific Islands.

Arnold Palacios, governor of CNMI, said: “We are deeply honored to have the privilege of naming the cable 'Proa' and participating in the unveiling of this transformative network set to revolutionize connectivity in the CNMI.

"The name 'Proa', drawing inspiration from our traditional sailing canoes, encapsulates the essence of connectivity and cultural heritage. It signifies the collaborative journey this project embodies, reflecting resilience and progress as we collectively move towards a future brimming with opportunities and prosperity for our islands."

Following a meeting between Japan's prime minister Kishidia Fumio and US president Joe Biden, the two parties released a statement that said: "We welcome the announcement of Google's $1 billion investment in digital connectivity for North Pacific Connect, which expands the Pacific Connect Initiative, with NEC, to improve digital communications infrastructure between the United States, Japan, and Pacific Island Nations."

In February 2024, Mertech Maine was selected to decommission the Japan-US subsea cable after it was retired in July 2023 with 22 years of service.

According to Submarine Cable Networks, seven other cables currently connect the West Coast of the US to Japan: PC-1, TGN-Pacific, TPE, Unity, Faster, NCP, and Jupiter.