Recent Progress of Cokemaking Technology in Japan

摘要

Recently the global steel industry has faced drastic changes in the demand-and-supply balance of steel products, leaving raw material prices extremely volatile. Under these surroundings, the Japanese cokemaking industry faces three major problems. The first is availability of hard coking coal. Japan depends on imports for coking coal for steel production. Due to the strong demand for steel caused by the expansion of the global economy, coal prices have increased drastically. In accordance with the price increase, the quality of coking coal is deteriorating.