The Japanese iron and steel industry: Continuity and discontinuity, 1850-1970

It is impossible to consider the development of Japan without considering the extraordinary development of the iron and steel industry. Japan's transformation from feudal to modern society in the late nineteenth century, its heavy industrialization and imperialist war ventures in the first half of this century, and the post-World War II high-economic growth, all depended on the industry's development. The other great Japanese industries, such as shipbuilding, automobiles, machinery, and consumer electronics, have developed largely based on steel. From 1850 to 1970, the industry increased its crude steel production from virtually nothing to 93.3 million tons (the third largest in the world).; This industry's achievement attracted the attention of the world. Those who sought the key to Japan's success tended to focus on the role of the government and in particular that of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. However, the successful transfer of technology and the establishment of the competitive industry were neither matters of transporting a piece of hardware from one geographic location to another nor of the government's shrewdly building steel mills. For modern capital intensive industries, such as the iron and steel, technological and organizational capabilities were absolute prerequisite to achieve competitiveness. In order to understand the technological and organizational capabilities of the industry, it is necessary to examine its long-term development. A historical approach is necessary.; The dissertation will focus on the development of technological and organizational capabilities, the transfer and adoption of technology, changes in demand and sources of supply, the impact of historical events, and the close continuing but changing relations between the government and the industry from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present. The dissertation will analyze the way in which the iron and steel industry developed in view of the dynamic interaction between continuities and discontinuities in the prewar and postwar periods.; The historical study will reveal three important facts. One is that the postwar development of the industry proved to be the historical solution to the half-century long problem of the industry, the unbalanced development between iron and steel production. The second is that the historical solution was not initiated by the government but by one entrepreneur, encouraged by the postwar discontinuities and the prewar technological and organizational capabilities. Finally, the third is that what the Japanese government learned from the controlled economy during World War II and how not to control private firms.