Major Japanese iron and steel companies 2023, by total assets

As of March 2023, Nippon Steel Corporation held total assets worth approximately 9.57 trillion Japanese yen, far more than other publicly listed companies in the Japanese iron and steel sector. Effectively, three companies dominate the Japanese steel industry: Nippon Steel, JFE, and Kobe Steel. What do they have in common? They are the primary operators of blast furnaces and the major suppliers of crude steel in Japan. The rest of the industry is smaller producers of special steel or furnace engineers.

The future of steel in Japan

The outlooks of this industry are mixed. Despite Japan’s growing competition from Asia, the worldwide steel demand is expected to grow during this century. After all, steel provides many qualities ideal for construction. Accordingly, Japan may supply high-quality steel to many places where people lack reliable infrastructure, let alone durable consumer goods. However, apart from steel or steel-containing exports (car components, etc.), domestic steel consumption is considered to decline in the future because of Japan’s demography. Still, steelmakers can count on some domestic demand resulting from Japan’s aging infrastructure.

Carbon-neutrality in steelmaking: challenge and chance

The industry has responded with several strategies to these prospects; focusing on exports is one of the considerations. Moreover, Japanese steelmakers try to convince with quality rather than sheer quantity. Here, the imposed ‘challenge of carbon neutrality by 2050’ comes into play: since steelmaking is a carbon-exhaustive industry, to market carbon-neutral steel seems an outstanding quality. Yet, this technological transition bears entrepreneurial risks. Accordingly, steelmakers have invested in or bought plants abroad, such as in India or Thailand, where production is closer to consumption and environmental restrictions are lower.