To suppress interpage crosstalk that strongly restricts holographic data storage capacity, a digital image diffusion technique was proposed. In this technique, signal and crosstalk components are separated from the propagation angle difference produced by using a random diffuser and the nature of phase conjugate lights. The most attractive feature of the technique is that crosstalk suppression can be conducted while mostly keeping the conventional holographic data storage system unchanged by integrating optical processing and digital processing effectively. The connection between the two types of processing is realized by using two spatial light modulators for complex amplitude generation and phase detection methods for complex amplitude measurement. The simulation results showed that the proposed technique could increase the recording density 5.5-fold and reduce the shift pitch by a factor of 5 in comparison with conventional multiplexing methods when the diffusion angle of the diffuser is 10 degrees. (c) 2013 The Japan Society of Applied Physics