ISIJ International, Vol. 54 (2014), No. 6, pp.
11771184
Review
Production and Technology of Iron and Steel in Japan during 2013
The Technology Society, The Iron and Steel Institute of Japan
1. Overview of the Japanese Iron and Steel Industry
The end of 2012 saw a change in the Japanese govern-
ment and the inauguration of the Abe administration, and
the year 2013 began amid high expectations for new change.
The new Prime Minister, Shinzou Abe, presented an eco-
nomic policy called Abenomics consisting of financial
policy, fiscal policy, and a growth strategy, and implemented
a set of emergency economic measures by bold monetary
easing and a revised budget from the beginning of the year.
As a result, economic conditions in Japan took a dramatic
turn for the better, thanks also to a correction of the over-
valued yen and rising stock prices. The real GDP growth
rate was positive through the entire year, the rate of increase
in commodity prices rose, and the total unemployment rate
improved, confirming the effects of these new policies on
the real economy. Nevertheless, there was an undeniable feel-
ing that the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake
and Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident of March
2011 had only begun, and a renewed recognition of the
importance of continuing to move ahead steadily with
recovery and reconstruction measures.
Supported by the favorable turn in economic conditions,
Japans crude steel production reached a high level of
110.57 million tons in 2013, or an increase of 3.1% from the
previous year. Raw material costs were stable in spite of the
depreciation of the yen, and the price of steel products
improved. As a result, the business performance of the steel
industry improved, centering on the integrated steel makers.
However, rising power costs contributed to a severe busi-
ness environment for electric furnace steel makers. In Japan,
moves toward reorganization of the steel industry continued,
and also extended to the logistics industry and structural
reform, as seen in blast furnace shutdowns at Nippon Steel
& Sumitomo Metal Corporation and Kobe Steel, Ltd. On the
other hand, there were also moves by Japanese integrated
steel makers to acquire plants and upgrade manufacturing
infrastructure overseas. Thus, the year was characterized by
a gradual but steady shift from Japan to other countries. As
conditions surrounding the iron and steel industry during
2013, the following summarizes trends in raw materials for
iron and steel, trends in steel-consuming industries, the con-
dition of crude steel production in Japan and other countries,
the globalization of Japanese steel makers, and related topics.
1.1. Trends in Raw Materials for Iron and Steel
Since 2004, the prices of iron ore, metallurgical coal, and
other raw materials for iron and steel had risen sharply due
to a tight supply-and-demand situation accompanying
* Corresponding author: E-mail: oshima@isij.or.jp
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2355/isijinternational.54.1177
1177
increased demand in China. However, prices peaked in 2011
due to expanded supplies of iron ore from Australia, Brazil,
etc. and metallurgical coal from Australia, Canada, and oth-
er countries, and showed a stable trend in 2013, continuing
from the previous year. As an annual average, the price of
raw material iron ore (Australia, fine ore) was on the
US$120/ton level, or basically the same level as in 2012.
Due to the tendency toward oversupply from Australia and
Canada, the price of metallurgical coal (Australia, strongly
caking coal) showed a further decline from 2012, reaching
US$150/ton as an annual average in 2013. On the other hand,
the issue of resource nationalism became increasingly appar-
ent, as exemplified by the ban on exports of nickel ore under
Indonesias New Mining Law of 2009 and similar moves.
1.2. Trends in Steel-consuming Industries
The following presents an outline of trends in steel-
consuming industries based on the quarterly steel supply-
and-demand report of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation
(JISF), etc. Details may be found in the original Japanese
text or at the JISF website.
[Civil engineering] The Japanese governments emergen-
cy economic stimulus package, announced in January 2013,
reached a total of 10 trillion, including an additional
amount of approximately 5 trillion for civil works and
facilities, which was comparable to amount in the original
budget. As a result, the value of orders for public works-
type civil engineering projects showed high growth across
the first half of the year.
[Construction] In residential construction, the number of
new housing starts, which had fallen to the annual 800 000
unit level after the Lehman Shock of 2008, recovered the
1 million unit level, buoyed by a buying rush ahead of the
consumption tax increase scheduled for April 2014, among
other factors. Construction starts (floor space) also showed
a firm increase in the nonresidential field.
[Shipbuilding] A large amount of the new ship construc-
tion orders placed prior to the Lehman Shock was complet-
ed, and there was no change in the stagnation in marine
transport due to the sluggish global economy. However,
contracts for ships for export increased from the beginning
of 2013.
[Automobiles] Domestic unit sales are expected to exceed
the previous fiscal year due to the increasing popularity of
light automobiles, the effect of hybrids and other new mod-
els, and the like. Unit sales of 4-wheeled vehicles during
calendar 2013 decreased by 3.1% from the previous year, to
9.63 million.1)
[Industrial machinery] Strong production activity is
expected in construction machinery, led by demand related
to disaster recovery effort, and if external demand is includ-
ed, a gradually recovering tendency can be seen. In trans-
2014 ISIJ
 ISIJ International, Vol. 54 (2014), No. 6

portation machinery, a favorable trend is expected against
the backdrop of investment for rationalization and others.
Boilers and motors are expected to exceed the results of the
previous fiscal year, as demand in the power industry in
Japan and external demand in the emerging economies is
foreseen.
[Electrical machinery] The electrical machinery industry
has recovered thanks to external-led demand due to growth
in demand for electric power, particularly in the emerging
economies, but in the domestic market, conditions for sales
to power companies remain difficult. The level of activity
in household appliances, electronic products, and white
goods was underpinned by the buying rush ahead of the con-
sumption tax increase and the effect of an unusually hot
summer/late summer. On the other hand, electronic products
were largely stagnant due to a downturn following the tran-
sition to digital terrestrial television.
1.3. Crude Steel Production
Crude steel production in Japan during calendar year 2013
was 110.57 million tons, or an increase of 3.1% from the
previous year. Production was on the 100 million ton level
for the fourth consecutive year following the Lehman Shock
and exceeded 110 million tons for the first time in 5 years.
By furnace type, converter steel comprised 85.68 million
tons and electric furnace steel comprised 24.89 million tons.
In comparison with the previous year, production of con-
verter steel increased by 3.37 million tons, while electric
furnace steel decreased by 40 000 tons (Fig. 1).2)
During calendar year 2013, world steel production
increased by 3.1% in comparison with 2012, reaching
able overcapacity condition continued, particularly in China.
According to the forecast of domestic steel demand for
FY 2014 published by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation,
declines in personal consumption and housing investment
due to anti-demand sentiment accompanying the consump-
tion tax increase in April are unavoidable. However, the
Japanese economy is expected to maintain positive growth,
supported by a recovery in capital expenditures due to
improved corporate profitability, recovery of exports led by
the recovery of overseas economies, centering on the United
States, and similar factors.4)
1.4. Globalization of the Japanese Steel Industry
There were also reports of overseas development by
Japans steel makers during 2013. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo
Metal reported the start of mass production and commercial
operation of automotive steel tube businesses in India and
Mexico in June, the start of commercial operation of hot-dip
galvanized steel sheet plants in Mexico and Thailand in
SeptemberOctober, and an increase in the capacity of its
joint venture for automotive steel sheets in China in
September. At the end of November, the company also
announced the acquisition of the US steel sheet plant of
ThyssenKrupp and reorganization of that facility as a joint
venture with Arcelor Mittal.
JFE Steel Corporation started operation of a hot-dip gal-
vanized steel strip production line in Thailand in April and
160
Crude steel producon
140 Converter steel
Crude Steel Producon (Mt)

Electric furnace steel

1 607.23 million tons,3) and continued to show a rising trend, 120
exceeding 1 600 million tons for the first time. The top ten 100 110.57
crude steel producers were led by China, Japan, and the
80
United States, as shown in Table 1. Chinas crude steel pro- 85.68
duction grew by 6.6% against the previous year and contin- 60
ued to show a high growth rate, as in recent years. The other 40
countries reporting growth of crude steel production were
Japan (3.1%) and India (5.0%). With the exception of China, 20
24.89
Japan, and India, all other countries in the top 10 showed 0
minus growth trends against the previous year. 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
The operating rate in the world steel industry at the end Calendar Year
of 2013 was 74.2%,3) which was an improvement from Fig. 1. Transition of crude steel production in Japan (calendar
72.0% at the end of 2012. In production capacity, a remark- year).2)

Table 1. Top 10 crude steel producing countries.3)

Growth rate from Growth rate from Growth rate from

2013 2010 2011 2012 2013
previous year previous year previous year
Top 10 (Mt) (Mt) (Mt) (Mt)
2011/2010 (%) 2012/2011 (%) 2013/2012 (%)
1 China 638.7 702.0 9.9 731.0 4.1 779.0 6.6
2 Japan 109.6 107.6 1.8 107.2 0.4 110.6 3.1
3 US 80.5 86.4 7.3 88.7 2.7 87.0 1.9
4 India 69.0 73.5 6.5 77.3 5.2 81.2 5.0
5 Russia 66.9 68.9 3.0 70.4 2.2 69.4 1.4
6 Korea 58.9 68.5 16.3 69.1 0.9 66.0 4.5
7 Germany 43.8 44.3 1.1 42.7 3.6 42.6 0.2
8 Turkey 29.1 34.1 17.2 35.9 5.3 34.7 3.3
9 Brazil 32.9 35.2 7.0 34.5 2.0 34.2 0.9
10 Ukraine 33.4 35.3 5.7 33.0 6.5 32.8 0.6

2014 ISIJ 1178

 ISIJ International, Vol. 54 (2014), No. 6
held the Opening Ceremony for the plant in November. JFE
also reported construction of an automotive hot-dip galva-
nizing line in Indonesia in June.
Kobe Steel started operation of a manufacturing and sales
company for high grade spring steel wire in China, which
the company established in March, started commercial oper-
ation of a continuous annealing line for automotive high
strength cold-rolled steel sheets in North America in May,
and concluded an agreement on a joint venture for produc-
tion of automotive high strength cold-rolled steel sheets in
China in October.
The progress of production technology for iron and steel
in 2013 is reviewed in the following.
2. Technology and Equipment
2.1. Technical Environment of the Japanese Steel
Industry
With the recovery of business conditions in Japan, Japanese
crude steel production reached a level exceeding 110 million
tons for the first time in 5 years. Amid these trends, direc-
tions for structural reform, including blast furnace shut-
downs, were worked out at the production sites of several
Japanese companies. On the other hand, 2013 was a year of
great progress in moves to shift production overseas, begin-
ning with automotive steel sheets. As a global warming
countermeasure by the iron and steel industry, there were
reports that it will be possible to achieve the target of the
Voluntary Action Plan, namely, reducing energy consump-
tion in iron and steel production processes by 10% from the
baseline year (1990) as an annual average for 5 years from
2008 to 2012 preconditioned on crude steel production of
100 million tons/year.
Next, great progress was also made in National Projects
deeply related to the iron and steel industry during 2013.
First, the iron and steel industry is devoting its full efforts
to COURSE50 (CO2 Ultimate Reduction in Steelmaking
Process by Innovative Technology for Cool Earth 50). The
Step 1 (20082012) of Phase 1 was completed by 2012, and
the project advanced to Step 2, in which construction of an
experimental blast furnace and tests involving continuous
reduction of hydrogen and separation and recovery of CO2
are scheduled. Second, in the new National Project New
Structural Systems Using Innovative New Structural Mate-
rials, for which the iron and steel technology field led the
planning and proposal, the project organized a technology
research association and began technical research. This is a
project in which technical development will be carried out
over a long timeframe of 10 years, and efforts targeting
multi-material structures for auto bodies are expected.
The following introduces the main technological trends
by field and the technical topics of the Sustaining Member
Companies of the Iron and Steel Institute of Japan.
2.2. Iron-making
Pig iron production in calendar year 2013 was 83.85 million
tons, which as an increase of 3.0% from the 81.41 million
tons of 2012.5) Blast furnace productivity increased to
1.94 t/m3-d from 1.88 t/m3-d in 2012. In 2013, there was no
change in the operating blast furnace status from the previ-
ous year, as 27 blast furnaces were in operation at year-end.
1179
The number of blast furnaces with inner volumes of more
than 5 000 m3 (13) was also the same as at the end of 2012.
At Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metals Nagoya Works,
construction of a coke oven, in which the next-generation
cokemaking process SCOPE21 was introduced, was com-
pleted in June as the sites No. 2 plant. The new plant is
expected to expand the use of low-grade metallurgical coal,
achieve a substantial energy saving effect, etc. by improving
coke quality by fast preheating of metallurgical coal, short-
ening of production time, and other improvements.
2.3. Steelmaking
Crude steel production in calendar year 2013 was
110.57 million tons, or an increase of 3.1% in comparison
with 107.23 million tons in 2012 (Fig. 1). The continuous
casting ratio among rolling slab/ingot is shown in Fig. 2.5)
The continuous casting ratio maintained a high level of 99.9%
for ordinary steel and increased to 97.1% for special steel.
At Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd. Shunan Works, out-of-furnace
mechanical-stirring desulfurization equipment, which was
the first of its kind in the world, was introduced as a stain-
less steel manufacturing process. This innovative technology
achieves zero use of CaF2 in the electric furnace simultane-
ously with a large reduction in energy unit consumption.
Daido Steel Co., Ltd. completed an investment of approx-
imately 20 billion to strength the steelmaking process
(steelmaking process reform) at its Chita Works and began
a hot run in November 2013. Production capacity was
increased and quality/cost competitiveness were strength-
ened by construction of a new 150 t electric furnace, recti-
fication of the material flow, etc. Following confirmation of
material properties, the company foresees a switchover to
production by the new steelmaking process in early FY
2014 (beginning April 1, 2014).
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal and Toho Titanium Co.,
Ltd. established a joint venture in the field of titanium alloy
production for aircraft and announced a joint start of busi-
ness in April 2014. In addition to one electron beam (EB)
furnace owned by Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metals
Naoetsu Works, the company also newly purchased two
vacuum arc remelting (VAR) furnaces owned by Osaka
Titanium Technologies. The company aims to secure a
homogeneous composition in titanium ingots, which are an
intermediate product, increasing production capacity, and
Fig. 2. Change of continuous casting ratio.5)
2014 ISIJ
 ISIJ International, Vol. 54 (2014), No. 6
improving quality and cost competitiveness.
2.4. Sheets, Plates, and Pipes
2.4.1. Sheets
JFE Steel developed a High-Speed Rolling Technology
by Hybrid-Lubrication System in Tandem Cold Rolling
Mill which satisfies both excellent lubrication in high
speed rolling and reduction of rolling oil consumption. This
technology received the FY 2013 Prize of the Japan Society
for Technology of Plasticity, and actively controls the
behavior by which oil droplets in an emulsion form an oil
film on the surface of steel strips, based on a lubricant feed
system for circulating use of an emulsion in which an ester-
based synthetic lubricating oil is emulsified at low concen-
tration (13%) by a surfactant.
Japanese steel makers are also actively engaged in devel-
opment of use technologies. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo
Metal developed a simple, accurate method of evaluating
the fatigue strength of thin stainless steel sheets when pro-
cessed as gaskets. The company also developed a direct
water-cooled die technology which greatly shortens the
holding time at the bottom dead point during forming in hot
stamping, and a revolutionary new press method which
enables easy forming of ultra-high strength steels.
JFE Steel and Hitachi, Ltd. jointly developed an evalua-
tion system for coated steel sheets, which enables accurate
evaluation under actual use environments. This method was
standardized by the International Standards Organization
(ISO) in March 2013.
2.4.2. Plates
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal developed a 6%Cr-high
Al-added low alloy steel material that provides excellent
corrosion resistance in high salt-damage environments when
used in combination with an inorganic Zn primer. This
material stably maintains the passivation state of the steel
plate surface, and secures excellent red rust resistance in
high salt-damage environments by actively utilizing the sac-
rificial Zn corrosion protection mechanism and corrosion
products; it is an outstanding low alloy steel from the view-
point of global environmental-friendliness.
JFE Steel expanded the maximum plate thickness of ten-
sile strength 590 N/mm2 class high strength steel plates for
building construction by two times, to 100 mm, and
obtained the approval of Japans Ministry of Land, Infra-
structure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) in September 2013.
2.4.3. Steel Pipes
A new company named Nippon Steel & Sumikin Pipe
Co., Ltd. was launched as a result of a merger of two man-
ufacturers of welded steel pipes, Sumitomo Pipe & Tube
Co., Ltd. and Nittetsu Steel Pipe Co., Ltd. In addition to
heightening synergies by concentrating the technologies and
know-how of the two former companies, the new company
is strengthening its product lines and carrying out a reorga-
nization aimed at optimizing its production system, thereby
achieving higher efficiency in the business system and
enhancing its ability to respond to customers.
JFE Steel developed an API X80 grade high strength,
heavy wall electric resistance welded (ERW) steel pipe with
a wall thickness exceeding 20 mm. The new pipe was sup-
2014 ISIJ
plied jointly with Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc. to an energy
development company in Australia as an ERW pipe that sat-
isfies both the strength and thickness requirements for with-
standing external pressures in deep sea environments.
2.5. Measurement, Systems, and Analysis
JFE Steel developed a technology which selectively
extracts and controls periodic components in standing
waves in mold meniscus level control in continuous casting.
The new technology has been used in the commercial pro-
cess since 2011 and is contributing to increased casting
speed. For the bar rolling mill, JFE developed a system that
displays guidance on the caliber roll arrangement by using
image processing technology; this system has been in oper-
ation since installation at JFE Steels West Japan Works
(Kurashiki District) in 2008. The company also achieved a
reduction in variations in the tensile strength of cold-rolled
steel sheets by applying to the cold-rolling process a tech-
nology that constructs the optimum predictive model each
time operation is performed based on a large volume of
actual operational data.
Daido Steel Co., Ltd. developed an operation support sys-
tem for the A.C. electric furnace which judges the timing of
meltdown of steel scrap by the higher harmonics of the A.C.
furnace and sound generated in the furnace, and began sales
in April 2013.
Among analysis-related topics, JFE Steel developed a
device that enables analysis of the sulfur content in iron and
steel materials to the 0.1 ppm level by combining the high
speed which is a strong point of the high frequency combus-
tion method and the high sensitivity and low interference
component which are advantages of the ultraviolet fluores-
cence method.
2.6. Environment and Energy
2.6.1. Government Efforts
The 19th session of the Conference of the Parties to the
UNFCCC (COP19) and the 9th session of Conference of
Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto
Protocol (CMP9) were held in Warsaw, Poland from
November 11 to 28, 2013.6)
As results of discussions in the high-level segment
through working level negotiations in the Ad Hoc Working
Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP)
and sessions of two Subsidiary Bodies, agreement was final-
ly reached on i) decisions including the work plan (structure
and timeline) for ADP7, ii) a series of decisions on climate
funding (financial contribution), and iii) decisions on loss
and damage associated with climate change impacts, etc. In
a statement to the high-level segment, Japans Minster of the
Environment, Nobuteru Ishihara, noted that Japans green-
house gas emissions for the First Commitment Period of the
Kyoto Protocol are forecast to be 8.2% lower than the target,
and as a result, Japan has achieved its 6% reduction target.
Mr. Ishihara also mentioned that Japan has set a reduction
target of 3.8% compared to the 2005 level, which is to be
achieved by 2020.6)
2.6.2. Efforts of the Japanese Steel Industry
The Japan Iron and Steel Federation has established a
Voluntary Action Programme for the Iron and Steel Indus-
1180
 ISIJ International, Vol. 54 (2014), No. 6
try and is promoting the following efforts.7)
1) Energy conservation in iron and steel production pro-
cesses
(1) Assuming annual crude steel production of 100 million
tons, the goal is to achieve a 10% reduction in energy
consumption in iron and steel production processes by
FY 2010 compared with the baseline year, FY 1990.
(A 10% reduction of energy consumption is assumed
to be equivalent to a 9% reduction in CO2 emissions.)
(2) However, even if crude steel production exceeds
100 million tons, the steel industry will make the max-
imum possible effort to achieve this target, including
use of Kyoto Protocol mechanisms.
(3) The 10% reduction target is to be achieved based on
average energy consumption for the five-year period
ending in FY 2012.
2) Contribution to energy conservation outside the steel
industry
(1) Reuse of one million tons of waste plastics and other
materials, assuming establishment of the required col-
lection system.
(2) Contribution to energy conservation in society through
steel products and byproducts.
(3) Contribution to energy conservation through interna-
tional technical cooperation.
(4) Utilization of unused energy at steel mills in neighbor-
ing areas.
(5) Strengthening of efforts in the consumer, business, and
transportation sectors.
3) Development of revolutionary technologies (COURSE50)
(1) Technology for CO2 separation and recovery from
blast furnace gas.
(2) Iron ore reduction technology using reformed hydro-
gen from coke oven gas.
As results of this Voluntary Action Programme for FY
2012 (90 participating companies), crude steel production
was 103.944 million tons, or a 0.7% decrease from FY
1990, and thanks to active promotion of energy conservation
measures, energy consumption in FY 2012 was 2 227 PJ, or
a reduction of 8.7% from FY 1990. Energy-originated CO2
emissions decreased 185.8 million t-CO2, for a 7.4%
decrease in comparison with FY 1990.7) As an annual aver-
age for the period FY 20082012, energy consumption was
2 187 PJ; this was a decrease of 10.7% from FY 1990 and
thus achieved the target of a 10% reduction. The average of
energy-originated CO2 emissions for the same period was
179.5 million t-CO2, which was a decrease of 10.5% from
FY 1990 and satisfied the industrys 9% reduction target.7)
The Japan Iron and Steel Federation has laid out the
following direction for the Japanese steel industry: The
Japanese steel industry will endeavor to further improve its
energy efficiency, which is currently on the worlds highest
level. With Japan continuing to serve as a base for produc-
tion and development, the industry will present to the world
eco-processes, eco-products, and eco-solutions, while
strengthening industrial cooperation with manufacturing
industries, and thereby will contribute to the growth of the
Japanese economy and creation of employment, while also
grappling with measures for controlling global warming.
Among these goals, it is estimated that eco-products contrib-
uted to a reduction of 23.62 million tons-CO2 in the stage
1181
of use as final products.7) It is also estimated that eco-
solutions contributed approximately 46.92 million tons-CO2
in reductions at the global scale by transfer and dissemina-
tion of the worlds most advanced energy saving technolo-
gies, centering on the developing countries.7)
In the area of Development of revolutionary technolo-
gies, the Japanese steel industry is grappling with
COURSE50 (CO2 Ultimate Reduction in Steelmaking Pro-
cess by Innovative Technology for Cool Earth 50), with the
aim of reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 30% by
reduction of CO2 emissions from the blast furnace and sep-
aration/recovery of CO2 from blast furnace gas. Step 1 of
Phase 1 was completed in 2012, and development in Step 2
of Phase 1 began in 2013 with a scheduled five year time-
frame. The primary purpose of Step 2 is Comprehensive
development of hydrogen reduction and separation/recov-
ery, focusing mainly on a pilot plant of blast furnace. In
order to establish a blast operating technology that maximiz-
es the effect of hydrogen reduction, combined tests with a
test CO2 separation plant and the test blast furnace are
scheduled.7)
As examples of application of steel slag to environmental
remediation and environmental improvement, Nippon Steel
& Sumitomo Metal utilized converter slag fertilizer in a
demonstration project in the Soma district of Fukushima
Prefecture as a salt removal countermeasure for farmland
damaged by the tsunami following the Great East Japan
Earthquake, and demonstrated the effectiveness of this
method. JFE Steel cooperated in demonstration projects in
which steelmaking slag blocks were used in the construction
of a reef for cultivating seaweed beds on the coastline in
Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and in a demonstration
test of the use of steelmaking slag to suppress sulfides in
Fukuyama Inner Harbor.
In the energy field, Kobe Steel developed a high heat
transfer titanium sheet for use in plate heat exchangers,
achieving an improvement of approximately 20% in heat
transfer performance. The new sheet was adopted for the
heat exchangers at a 50 kW demonstration plant which is to
be used in an ocean thermal energy conversion power gen-
eration demonstration project for advanced use of deep sea-
water in Okinawa Prefecture.
2.7. Construction and Civil Engineering
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal developed a technology
for reuse of mud containing mixed debris. This technology
was adopted at the end of 2012 in a disaster waste treatment
project in Kamaishi City, which is located in the earthquake/
tsunami disaster area, and approximately 200 000 tons of
tsunami deposits were treated by reuse. The company also
developed a platform construction method in which factory-
manufactured panels are assembled at the construction site
by bolted connections. Steel houses constructed by this
method were adopted for the Kaminakajima disaster recov-
ery public housing project in Kamaishi City, and construc-
tion was completed in March 2013. In a joint project with
Giken Ltd., Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal developed a
construction method for the wall portion of retaining walls
and similar civil works, by combining hat-shaped steel pipe
piles, which have excellent water cut-off performance, and
steel pipe piles, which provide high rigidity; this method
2014 ISIJ
 ISIJ International, Vol. 54 (2014), No. 6

was registered in the MLIT New Technology Information parison with FY 2009, declining from 1.39% to 1.18%.
System NETIS in July 2013.
3.2.2. Number of Regular Researchers per 10 000 Employees
In both all industries and the steel industry, an increasing
3. Technology Trade and Development
tendency continued until FY 2011. However, in FY 2012,
3.1. Technology Trade slight decreases could be seen in both all industries and the
Figure 3 shows the balance of technology trade in the steel industry.
iron and steel industry up to FY 2012.8) The payments
received for technology exports increased by 85% in com- 3.2.3. Research Expenditures per Regular Researcher
parison with the previous year, while payments for technol- Although failing to recover the level of FY 2008 before
ogy imports increased by 180%. the Lehman Shock, all industries showed a slight increasing
tendency during FY 2012. The steel industry returned to the
3.2. Research Expenditures and Number of Researchers FY 2008 level in 2011, but declined to the level of FY
The following three items were arranged using data in 20092010 in FY 2012.
Companies, Etc. in Table 1 of Statistical Survey of
Researches in Japan published by the Statistics Bureau of 3.3. Trends in Research and Development Utilizing
the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The Public Funds
results are shown in Figs. 46.8) Among iron and steel-related technical development proj-
ects, the main projects completed during FY 2012 included
3.2.1. Ratio of Research Expenditures to Sales i) CO2 Ultimate Reduction in Steelmaking Process by
Although this item has been essentially flat for the last Innovative Technology for Cool Earth 50 (COURSE50)
three years in all industries, a decreasing tendency can be (FY 20082012), ii) Technological development of inno-
seen in the steel industry. In particular, the ratio of research vative iron making process to enhance flexibility of resourc-
expenditures in the steel industry decreased by 2.1% in com- es (FY 20092012), and iii) Research and development for
expanded use of hard-to-use steel scrap (FY 20102012).
Of these, COURSE50 completed Step 1 of Phase 1, and


continuing from this, advanced to Step 2 (FY 20132017).

The main project begun in FY 2013 was Technology

development for innovative new structural materials (FY

20132022; budget for FY 2013: 6 050 million) under the

sponsorship of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

Fig. 3. Balance of tecunology trade of steel.8)
Fig. 5. Trend of the number of researchers per 10 000 employees.8)

The rao of sales to research Expenditure ( %)

Fig. 4. Trend of the ratio of sales to research expenditure. 8)
Fig. 6. Trend of the expenditure of R&D per regular researcher.8)

2014 ISIJ 1182

 ISIJ International, Vol. 54 (2014), No. 6

(METI). In this project, development of innovative alumi-
num materials, titanium materials, magnesium materials,
steel sheets, carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP), and the
joining technologies necessary for using these materials in
the optimum material and optimum location will be devel-
oped. An R&D consortium will be formed with participation
from upstream to downstream by companies and other orga-
nizations which possess the technical seeds that will form
the core of the joining technologies and respective material
fields, including material manufacturers, material proces-
sors, auto makers, universities, and others in order to carry
out research and development in organic collaboration. To
implement the project a Governing Board will be estab-
lished to promote cooperation for development of industri-
alization of results and problem-solving in industry, as well
as active use of intellectual property and research facilities,
in close cooperation with other projects such as the
Element strategy initiative for structural materials of the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Tech-
nology (MEXT).
The main continuing projects include i) COURSE50
Step 2 (FY 20132017), ii) Hetero-structure-controlled
metal materials project (FY 20102019), and iii) Technol-
ogy project of advanced USC (A-USC) thermal power gen-
eration (FY 20082016), among others.
The main projects on iron and steel-related research and
technical development topics being carried out with public
funds are shown in Table 2. Many of these topics are in the
fields of processes, the environment and energy, materials
development, etc.
4. Development of Human Resources in Technical
Fields
The Iron and Steel Institute of Japan (ISIJ) has conducted
a variety of training projects to date (Iron and Steel Engi-
neering Seminars, Iron and Steel Engineering Seminar spe-
cial course, Advanced Iron and Steel Seminar, Student Iron
and Steel Seminar) for cross-industry core human resources
development. In FY 2013, as in FY 2012, the main focus of
ISIJ training projects was the project to strengthen basic
education, as the ISIJ continued the Introduction to Iron
and Steel Engineering seminar for masters level graduate
students and the Experiential Seminar on Advanced Iron
and Steel for undergraduates. This years Introduction to
Iron and Steel Engineering was a 3-day seminar featuring
lectures on the fundamentals of iron and steel engineering
and technical development at the site by teachers from uni-
versities and companies, together with a plant tour on the
final day (in FY 2013, Kobe Steels Kobe Works). A total
of 42 students from 17 universities participated.
The Experiential Seminar on Advanced Iron and Steel is
a 1-day seminar course that introduces advanced technologies
related to iron and steel and the outlook for the future, and
also includes a plant tour. Three seminars were held in FY
2013, at JFE Steels East Japan Works (Chiba District), Kobe

Table 2. Examples of research topics with public funding in iron and steel industry.

Source of funds Beginning Ending

Category Subject
and commission fiscal year fiscal year
Grants-in-aid for Promotion of Domestic Siting - Second Invitation METI 2012 2014
Invetment promotion of state-of-the-art equipment to overcome the energy constraint and the
METI 2013 2014
Process appreciation of theYen
CO2 Ultimate reduction in Steelmaking process by innovative technology for cool Earth 50
NEDO 2013 2017
(COURSE50)
Grants-in-Aid for Development of Element Technologies for Practical Application of Advanced
METI 2008 2016
USC (A-USC) Thermal Power Generation
Development of Technologies for Hydrogen Production, Delivery, and Storage Systems NEDO 2010 2014

Elemental Hetero-Structure-Controlled Metal Materials Project JST 2010 2019

technology Development of Energy Optimization Design Software METI 2011 2014
Development of Core Technology for Next-generation 10MW Grade Ocean Thermal Energy
NEDO 2011 2015
Conversion Plant
Element Strategy Project (Research Center Creation Type) Structural Materials MEXT 2012 2021
Technology Development Project of Advanced USC (A-USC) Thermal Power generation METI 2008 2016
New Material High Power Semiconductor for Realizing Low-Carbon Society METI 2010 2014
Development of Magnetic Materials for High Efficiency Motors for Next-generation
Products METI 2012 2016
Automobiles
Development of material and member to achieve the advanced energy conservation METI 2013 2014
Development of innovative structual material technology METI 2013 2022
Mathematical Theory for Modeling Complex Systems and its Transdisciplinary Application in
Others JSPS 2010 2014
Science and Technology
METI: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
NEDO: New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization
JST: Japan Science and Technology Agency
MEXT: Ministry of Education,Calture,Sports, Science and Technology
JSPS: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

1183 2014 ISIJ

 ISIJ International, Vol. 54 (2014), No. 6
Steels Kakogawa Works, and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo
Metals Nagoya Works. These seminars are also open to stu-
dents in non-materials-related fields. The three seminars
attracted a total of 75 participants.
University Special Lectures by Top Management were
also held, continuing from FY 2012. This program is a
series of lectures by members of the top management of
steel companies, and is conducted to stimulate interest in
industry by communicating the attractions of the steel indus-
try as a manufacturing industry. This years lectures were
held at 11 universities, including 7 National Universities,
Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama National Univer-
sity, and Waseda University which participated in FY 2012,
together with Keio University as a new participant from FY
2013, and attracted a total of approximately 1 500 students.
The seminars and lectures were all extremely well-
received, as in the previous year, and are scheduled to be
continued in the coming years.
5. Technology Creation Activities in the ISIJ
The ISIJ conducts a variety of activities in which it
surveys technical information related to iron and steel pro-
duction technologies, extracts issues for technology devel-
opment, and works to solve problems related to iron and
steel, centering on its Technical Committees and Interdisci-
plinary Technical Committees, which are part of the Tech-
nical Society of the ISIJ.
5.1. Technical Committees
The Technical Committees, which promote activities par-
ticular to the ISIJ, hold regular Committee Meetings to
study important current issues as common/important topics,
and actively discuss those issues. During FY 2013, the
Technical Committees held 34 Committee Meetings (17
Spring Meetings, 17 Fall Meetings), which was the same
number as in FY 2012. The total number of participants was
2 650 (including a total of 53 university researchers and oth-
er outside researchers), or a decrease of 115 persons from
the 2 765 participants in FY 2012.
Industry-academic collaboration with the ISIJs Academic
Divisions is also firmly established. The Technical Commit-
tees encourage various types of exchanges, such as partici-
pation of university researchers in Committee Meetings and
planning of training for young persons, joint planning with
the Academic Divisions.
Technical Subcommittees prioritize joint study of desig-
nated technical issues; 23 such Technical Subcommittees
were active during the year. In addition to lecture meetings
for young engineers and plant tours and lecture meetings
with other industries, plans aiming at further activation of
the Technical Subcommittees were also carried out, includ-
ing a survey of overseas technologies, plant tours.
5.2. Interdisciplinary Technical Committees
Interdisciplinary Technical Committees, which study
cross-field and inter-industry technical issues, conduct
activities in principle within a 3-year timeframe. In FY
2014 ISIJ
2013, the activities of the Interdisciplinary Technical Com-
mittee on Technologies for improvement of reliability of
practical structural steels entered their 2nd year and included
a survey of the literature, etc. The Interdisciplinary Techni-
cal Committee on Desirable steel materials for automo-
biles conducted plant tours, lectures, meetings, etc. while
continuing to explore the proper form of a new cooperative
relationship with auto makers. Three working Groups, the
Working Group on Pressure Vessel Material Technolo-
gies, the Working Group on Study of Standards for Steel
Materials, and the Working Group on Evaluation of
Hydrogen Embrittlement of Steel Materials for Chemical
Plants, carried out respective activities, which included
survey research, experimental research, etc. and summa-
rized their results.
5.3. Research Grants and Research Groups
In Grants for Promotion of Iron and Steel Research, 36
new projects were selected as grant recipients (including 13
by young researchers). Combined with the 41 projects
selected in FY 2012, this program currently supports a total
of 77 projects.
During FY 2013, 19 Research Groups were active, of
which 6 were concluded during the fiscal year. Six new
activities each were begun in Research Group I (Seeds)
and Research Group II (Needs). For FY 2014, 4 activities
were selected for type I research groups and 3 were selected
for type II. In Industry-originated Project Development
Iron and Steel Research, the topics that were selected in FY
2010 were concluded at the end of September, and those
selected in FY 2011 were concluded at the end of March.
Activities in two topics that were selected in FY 2012 and
FY 2013 are currently in progress. There were no new pro-
posals selected for FY 2014.
REFERENCES
1) Automobile production results for December 2012, website of the
Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Inc., http://
www.jama.or.jp/stats/product/20140131.html, (accessed 2014-02-05).
2) Iron and Steel Production Bulletin, Calendar year, National Iron and
Steel Production/National Steel Product Production, website of The
Japan Iron and Steel Federation, http://www.jisf.or.jp/data/seisan/
index.html, (accessed 2014-02-05).
3) Website of WSA (World Steel Association): http://www.worldsteel.org/,
(accessed 2014-02-05).
4) Trends in iron and steel demand in FY 2013, website of The Japan Iron
and Steel Federation, http://www.jisf.or.jp/news/topics/documents/
FY2014tekko-juyo.pdf, (accessed 2014-02-05).
5) Office of Current Survey for Mining and Manufacturing, Research
and Statistics Department, Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau,
METI, Monthly Report of Statistics for Iron and Steel, Nonferrous
Metal, and Metal Products, Date. http://www.meti.go.jp/statistics/tyo/
seidou/result/ichiran/resourceData/01_tekko/kakuho/01_tokei/01_tekko/
h2daais201212khc.xls, (accessed 2014-01-31).
6) Website of the Ministry of the Environment, Results of 19th session
of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP19) and the 9th
session of Conference of Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties
to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP9), http://www.env.go.jp/earth/cop/
cop19/index.html, (accessed 2014-02-03).
7) Website of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, Efforts of the Iron and
Steel Industry in Global Warming Countermeasures, Progress Report
of Voluntary Action Programme, http://www.jisf.or.jp/business/ondanka/
kouken/joukyo/documents/gaiyou.pdf, (accessed 2014-02-03).
8) Report on the Survey of Research and Development, Statistics Bureau,
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Tokyo.
1184