In this series, “Industrial Zones and Regions Japanese Elementary School Students Learn About in Textbooks,” we covered Japan’s three major industrial zones: the Keihin Industrial Zone, the Chukyo Industrial Zone, and the Hanshin Industrial Zone.
However, when I was in elementary school (born in 1983), Japan’s industrial zones were referred to as the “four major industrial zones” rather than the “three major industrial zones.”
This time, we’ll be focusing on the Kitakyushu Industrial Zone/Region, once one of the four major industrial zones.
Read the previous article here
Prosperity Driven by Steel and Coal Mining
The Kitakyushu Industrial Zone was not only once counted as one of the four major industrial zones in Japan, but it can also be considered one of the birthplaces of modern Japanese industry. Japan’s first integrated steelworks was established in Kitakyushu in 1901. Historically, this steel mill is known as the “Government-run Yahata Steel Works.”
Until around 1990, there was a saying in Japan that “steel is the rice of industry.” This is because iron is an essential material for industrialization. The steel produced by the Government-run Yahata Steel Works also supported Japan’s modernization.
The Government-run Yahata Steel Works was later privatized and incorporated into Japan Iron & Steel. It is the origin of Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC), which acquired U.S. Steel this year. The Yahata Steel Works continues to operate under NSC today.
Aside from steel, coal was once mined in the Chikuho coalfields near the Kitakyushu industrial area, and this fuel supported Japan’s modernization. The Aso Group is a corporate group that began as a mining operation in the Chikuho coalfields and has since diversified into cement sales, real estate, software development, and more. The Aso Group was once headed by Taro Aso, who served as Prime Minister of Japan nearly 20 years ago, and is still run by the Aso family.
Efforts to Overcome the Slump Following the Energy Transition Have Lagged
As such, the Kitakyushu Industrial Zone embodies a certain “prestigiousness” in Japan’s industrial history. However, as mentioned at the beginning, the current Kitakyushu Industrial Zone is no longer counted among the four major industrial zones. Elementary school social studies textbooks describe the Keihin, Chukyo, and Hanshin industrial zones as the “three major industrial zones.”
Let’s take a look at the graph showing the production value of Japan’s industrial zones and regions, which I’ve featured several times so far.
In the first installment of this series, I explained that the Keihin Industrial Zone was the smallest of the three major industrial zones, but the current Kitakyushu Industrial Zone is far smaller than the Keihin Industrial Zone, with a production value of less than 10 trillion yen (approximately $64 billion).
The cause of this is the shift in human energy use. The shift from coal to oil as the primary energy source (of course, further shifts from oil to other energy sources are currently underway), contributed to the economic decline of Kitakyushu, home to the Chikuho coalfields.
The local community has not simply sat idly by, but has undertaken redevelopment and industrial restructuring, but the region has not yet been able to recover to its former level of prosperity.
However, it is unclear whether the stagnation will continue into the future. One bright spot is that Fukuoka Airport, which is relatively large in Japan, has limited handling capacity, so there are hopes that Kitakyushu Airport, which can operate 24 hours a day, will play a complementary role in logistics and some passenger traffic. With the increase in people and logistics, it is possible that the Kitakyushu region may once again be in the spotlight.
