A growing GPU shortage is hitting Japan, with high-end models like the RTX 5060 Ti and above facing severe stock issues, according to a January 10 report from ITmedia. Retailers in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, a major hub for electronics, are struggling to keep graphics cards in stock, with many selling out almost immediately upon arrival. The situation has become so dire that some stores are covering empty shelves with curtains due to a complete lack of inventory. Staff at multiple shops report that while customer demand remains steady and largely rational—there’s little evidence of panic buying—availability of higher-end GPUs has become a major concern. At PC Studio Akihabara Parts Museum, employees noted that any graphics card that makes it to the sales floor is typically sold out within hours, if not minutes. This latest update follows reports from late December, when retailers had already begun limiting purchases of high-capacity GPUs to one per customer and warning that 16GB models might be hard to restock. What’s changed is the visibility and severity of the shortage on the sales floor. The problem is not isolated to Japan; it reflects a broader global trend affecting high-memory GPUs. The root cause lies in rising memory costs and ongoing constraints in the supply of high-capacity GDDR6 and GDDR6X memory chips—critical components for modern high-performance graphics cards. As demand for AI workloads and advanced gaming continues to surge, the pressure on memory supply chains has intensified. With memory production struggling to keep pace, manufacturers are facing bottlenecks that directly impact GPU availability. Experts warn that the situation is likely to worsen throughout the year. As AI-driven applications and next-generation gaming push the limits of current hardware, demand for high-memory GPUs will only increase. Meanwhile, supply chain constraints show no signs of easing, leaving retailers with little clarity on when new stock might arrive. Consumers should expect ongoing scarcity and price volatility, particularly for premium models. For now, the GPU aisle in Akihabara remains “a little bit spicy”—a vivid metaphor for the tense and unpredictable market conditions reshaping the PC hardware landscape.