Internet Initiative Japan, a major Japanese internet access and network solutions providers, has increased its capital position in its UK subsidiary of IIJ Exlayer. In a move to boost its reach into the European market, the company has also launched a London data center and extended its backbone network to UK.

The additional investment is meant to strengthen IIJ's European presence. The company said it wanted to establish a support system in the region that has a greater response time and service granularity.

IIJ Exlayer has been contributing to the IIJ Group's international operations by providing systems integration services to clients from its offices in London and Düsseldorf. It has been providing support to Japanese companies located in Europe with network solutions and value-added system-integration services.

As part of the move, IIJ changed the names of its London and Düsseldorf subsidiaries. IIJ Exlayer Europe Limited became IIJ Europe Limited, and IIJ Exlayer GmbH became IIJ Deutschland GmbH.

Its backbone network now connects Japan, UK and the US. By extending its backbone network to Europe, IIJ can connect Japan and UK directly through Russia, reducing relay latency and improving the connection between Japan and Europe.

IIJ is building a service platform to deliver cloud services it has been providing in US and China in Europe.

IIJ Exlayer became an IIJ consolidated subsidiary in April 2012.