According to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF), Japan’s crude steel production totaled 89.23 million tons in 2022, sliding by 7.4% compared to 2021, the first decline in the past two years. The decrease was mainly due to slowed recovery of automobile production and shrunk demand for exporting amid the sluggish global economy in 2022.

JISF said that Japan’s domestic steel demand has been impacted by the delayed recovery of automobile production, and overseas demand has also been sluggish since the second half of last year due to high inflation and interest rate hikes in Europe and the US.

Besides, Japan’s annual crude steel production is unlikely to rebound to 100 million tons even if the demand picks up as Japan’s steelmakers have been cutting the number of blast furnaces.