Japan by the Japanese/Chapter 18.8

The importance of inaugurating the iron industry in this country on modern principles, both in regard to military and to industrial requirements, was early perceived by the Government, which once attempted to undertake that task by the establishment of a model iron and steel works at Kamaishi. This attempt ended, however, in failure, as did the attempt to induce private enterprise to take the matter up by the offer of a Government subsidy; and the project was accordingly allowed to remain in abeyance, when the Government decided to make a second attempt to establish the necessary works itself.

With this object in view, it submitted to the Diet in 1890 and 1891 estimates of the necessary expenditures, but on both these occasions the proposal of the Government was rejected by the members of the Diet on the ground that the information furnished by the Government with regard to the Works had not been sufficiently explicit in respect of the amount of raw material available in Japan.

The members of the House of Peers insisted, however, on the necessity of furthering the investigation, and in pursuance of their proposal a Committee was nominated by the Government, ​to report on a number of subjects in this connection—among others, of the following: (1) The amount of iron ore obtainable in Japan; (2) the trial manufacture of pig-iron and steel; (3) the organization of the works.

This Committee was successful in furnishing an elaborate and exhaustive report on the questions submitted to them; but the Government, being dissatisfied with the report in question, ordered a new Committee to make further investigations on the same subjects. This was done, and subsequently the trial manufacture of iron was successfully carried out at Kamaishi by the Committee, under the personal supervision of Viscount Enomoto, the then Minister of Agriculture and Commerce.

Encouraged by the favourable completion of the various preliminary investigations, the Government finally decided to put its scheme into practice, and with that object in view, it applied to the Diet in the ninth session for the disbursement of the sum of 4,195,793.41 yen as expenses for the establishment of the Works. The Government’s proposals were passed unanimously by both Houses. On March 30 an Imperial Edict regarding the official organization of the Works was issued.

In February of the same year the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce announced that Yawatamura, Onga-gori, Chikuzen, in the Prefecture of Fukuoka, had been selected as the site of the new Works. The necessary land was purchased soon afterwards, and the survey of the ground and the foundations was at once begun. In the meantime, Mr. Oshima, Technical Director, and three engineers belonging to the works were sent abroad to examine the existing condition of the steel manufacturing works in foreign countries, and also to seek the opinion of the noted experts in Europe and America on the various subjects connected with the new undertaking. As a result of the careful inquiries made by these gentlemen, it was found that the original estimates of the cost of construction were too small to admit of the successful carrying out of the plan which had been adopted by the Government.

In 1898 the Diet was applied to for a further sum of 6,474,056 yen, the application being presented in the form of a supplementary Budget. The expenditure for the establishment of the works was thus increased to an aggregate total of 10,569,849 yen, which was to be defrayed during the four years ending 1901. The attention of the authorities was also directed to the importance of securing for the Works cheap and regular supplies of ore and coal, etc., as well as to the advisability of facilitating water transportation, owing to the abundance of goods coming to and leaving the Works all the year round. The Government therefore submitted to the Diet in February, ​1899, estimates of 8,632,845 yen, including 4,500,000 yen for subsidizing the Wakamatsu Harbour Improvement Works. The amount of the expenditures appropriated for the establishment of the Works was thus increased to 19,200,000 yen approximately, by the addition of the working capital. Thanks to the indefatigable and unremitting exertions of the officials in charge, the construction works have been almost entirely completed, and the working of the No. 1 Blast Furnace and Open Hearth was commenced on the 5th of February and the 30th of May respectively. The Rolling Mill Plant also commenced work soon afterwards.

The Works are situated at Yawatamachi, Onga-gori, Chikuzen, Prefecture of Fukuoka, near Wakamatsu (well known for the exportation of Kiushu coal), and extend over an area of about 90 hectares at present, but are intended to be enlarged hereafter.

By sea the distance from Shimonoseki or Moji to Wakamatsu Harbour is ten English miles, and from the said harbour to the Works somewhat above two miles. Within the harbour of Wakamatsu the depth of the water is, up to the loading-place of the railway, at ebb-tide 15 feet, and from the loading-place to the quay between 10 and 14 feet. The former part is now being dredged, and will be made 20 feet in depth.

By the Kyushyu railway, which is connected with the lines within the Works, it takes forty-three minutes to go from Moji to the Works.

As to the water-supply, a conduit leads the water from Itabitsu River to the Works, and distributes it over all parts of them. The quantity of water thus supplied is, at the lowest water-level, 3,000 litres per minute, at the ordinary water-level 6,000 litres. Moreover, two reservoirs are now being built.

The loading-place is connected by railway-lines with the Kyushyu railway, as well as with each part of the Works. These lines being built according to the regulations made for the construction of railways in Japan, any train coming from any part of Japan may be led directly to any point of the Works. The length of railway-lines within the Works amounts to ten English miles at present, but will amount to seventeen miles hereafter.

Also the Works have now under construction a quay wall, which is 630 metres long, with a water-depth of 20 feet at ebb-tide. When completed, three or four steamers of 2,000 to 3,000 tons displacement will be able to load and unload cargo simultaneously alongside the wall. The basin for the accommodation of junks and shallow-draught vessels measures 49,000 square metres, and has a water frontage of 740 metres for handling cargo. The depth at ebb-tide is 8 feet.

​Three kinds of motive power are used in the Works—viz., steam, electric, and hydraulic power. With the sole exception of locomotives, steam power is produced in steam boilers, fired with waste gas from blast-furnaces and coke ovens. But while electric power furnishes about 1,500 horse-power and hydraulic power 200 horse-power, there are fifty-two steam-boilers of about 10,000 horse-power altogether, the number of steam-engines being twenty-four, of 31,200 horse-power on the whole.

The offices and the different workshops are lighted interiorly and exteriorly by electric light, about 120 arc and 1,000 incandescent lamps being employed for the purpose.

Three coal-mines lying close to one another in Kahogori, Chikuzen—namely, Takao, Igisu, and Uruno, have been purchased by the Works, together with two iron-mines, known as Akadani and Kano, in Kambara-gori, Echigo. Works have already been started in the Akadani Mine, and will be completed in the course of the present year. It is expected to get an annual output of 100,000 tons, the total amount of hematite iron ore in sight being estimated at 3,800,000 tons approximately. Besides the above, the Works have concluded a contract with the Hang-Yang Iron-Works for the supply of ore from their mines in Taya, Hupeh, China, to the amount of 5,000 to 7,000 tons per annum.

The products of the Works are Bessemer and open-hearth steel. The raw material mostly consumed is magnetite and hematite, besides a much smaller quantity of limonite. Those ores are obtained partly from mines belonging to the Works, partly from other mines in Japan, and partly also from China. Coal is furnished by fields belonging to the Works, as well as by such in private possession, all fields being within 30 English miles of the Works, and connected with them by railway-lines.

The pig-iron department consists firstly of a coke oven and coal-washing plant, the latter having a capacity of 1,200 tons per 24 hours; secondly, the blast-furnace plant, supplied with ore and flux-bins, roasting-furnaces, blast-furnaces, hot stoves (8), Lancashire boilers (24), blowing-engines (4), casting-shed, condensers, cooling towers, electric cranes, and hoists, etc. The steel department is divided into four sections—viz., mixer plant, Bessemer plant, open-hearth plant, and steel-foundry. The rolling-mill department is very extensive, occupying no less than thirteen buildings, and, like every other section of the Works, is fitted with the most up-to-date appliances and plant. The iron foundry, repair shop, smithy, pattern shop, boiler-house, chemical and mechanical laboratory, inspection bureau, and general offices are also housed in large and substantial structures. According to the elaborate inquiries made ​by the Committee specially appointed on the question of steel-works, the iron foundry may not only expect great success in future, but is already producing 150 tons or more of superior rails daily. The favourable prospects, coupled with the immediate demand for enormous quantities of steel, on account of the extension of railway-lines and naval armaments, have induced the Government to accomplish the task by increasing the necessary capital. The machines of all descriptions and other arrangements being set in order, the operation of the Works is coming into a flourishing condition, though it occurred at first that the original estimates of cost of construction were too small to admit of the successful carrying out of the plan. This was misunderstood by the public to be failure of the Works itself. The Committee considered it expedient that it should be run as a private company, on the ground that the Works could thus be released from the restrictive interference put on the management thereof, which they consider as inseparable under an official organization. In so far as the suggestions of the Committee do not affect the welfare of the Works, the Government will take the course it thinks best.

Manufacturing of steel was first tried about twenty-five years ago, and was continued on a very small scale up to 1895. Only shells of 12 centimetres and quick-firing guns of 47 millimetres could be made, all other kinds of guns being supplied by foreign countries. The last Chinese War afforded a good opportunity for extension of the weapons manufacturing works. Especially the naval arsenal in Kure, which had worked hitherto chiefly for repairs, underwent a great extension. New workshops were built and new machines purchased. Then umber of workmen employed rose from 67 in 1895 to 5,400 in 1900. Almost every kind of projectile can be produced there, several hundreds of guns under 8 inches have already been manufactured, and when all parts of the new workshops are completed, those of 12 inches may also be made.

Going one step further, it is now proposed to establish a new steel-foundry in Kure for manufacturing armour-plates.

According to the plan consented to in Parliament, the new workshops will be built in four years from 1903. The total amount of the expense is estimated at 6,340,093 yen, which are added to the continual expense for 1894 to 1903 of 110,344 yen for the extension of the Kure arsenal. The expense will be defrayed from out of the general comptabilité, no new taxation or loan being wanted for it. The items of the new expenses and their annual amounts are as follows:

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The workshops will be completed in 1905, and from 1906 actual work will be commenced. The annual amount of production will be 3,800 tons. The plates will be used for new men-of-war to be built by means of the Navy Preservation Fund.