The Prosperity and its Decadence of Iron and Steel Industry in N. Kyushu Area

Abstract

It was in 1901 that the Yawata Iron and Steel Works began to operate their blast furnaces. Having had many advantageous factors since that time, the N. Kyushu Area has grown into the “Mecca” of the iron and steel industry in Japan. But the advantageous factors of this area began to decrease since 1930's and it lost its monopolistic status after the World War II. Seen from the geographical view-point, the major advantageous factors of the prosperity and the disadvantageous factors of its decline are as follows : I) The major advantageous factors of the prosperity (1901-30) A) The convenience of this area for getting raw materials.a) This area was well situated for getting inner raw materials as the coal of Chikuho Coal-field.b) This area was well located at the nearest entrance of getting foreign raw materials as the iron are from Korea and China and coking coal from China.B) The protective policy against the disadvantages for parting the market areas.a) The cargoes was sent by the cheap inland sea transport.b) The “Tatene value system” - (CIF. and single standard price throughout country) -of iron and steel works in this area.Although, the area was located far from the market areas of Hanshin and Keihin, the iron and steel works in this area were not handicapped by their location, thanks to this cheap freight and special price system.II) The major disadvantageous factors leading to its decline.A) Conversion of the spatial arrangement of industries from the “areal differentiation” by the system of laissez-fair to the construction of “plural self-sufficing districts” for the purpose of the national defence. For that purpose, the whole country was divided into five self-sufficing districts, within each of which the productive capacity of iron and steel was to be equal more or less, many iron and steel works were established in each district. As the result, the percentage of production per total in this area decreased proportionately.B) Change of the locational factors in iron and steel industry.a) As the coke-ratio per pig iron fell down from 4.0t to 1.2t or more owing to the improvement of technique in the operation of blast furnaces, the locational power of coal in this area decreased.b) The new locational factors-1) the harbour having the depth of 17m or more, 2) a large space having an area of 165, 000, 000m2 or more, 3) supplying the power of industrial water of 9 × 108m3/ year, and so on-were occasioned by the necessity of lengthened transport distance of raw materials and big-sized vessels to exclude the pressure of higher transport cost.Accordingly, the huge and new picked iron and steel works began to locate on the new areas having new locational factors. Corresponded to this change, the hegemony in this area for iron and steel industry declined. Besides, it is true that the absence of machinery industry is thought to be one of the reasons for the decline in this area. But it is not owing to the self-sufficing nature of operation in iron and steel works, but the special price systems, that machinery industry did not develop in this area.