Chikuho Coalfields

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Following the fall of the Edo Shogunate in 1867, the Meiji government's modernization efforts led to the issuance of the Mine Edict in 1872, which spurred rapid coal mining development in the Chikuho region. The launch of the government-run Yahata Steel Works (now Nippon Steel Corporation) in 1901 further accelerated coal mining activities by zaibatsu in the surrounding areas. For a time, and extending into the post-World War II period, the Chikuho coalfield was Japan’s largest producer of coal. However, the overuse of equipment and excessive mining during the war caused significant deterioration of the coal mines. In addition, repeated natural disasters in the 1950s and the onset of the energy revolution in the latter half of the decade led to a gradual decline in coal production. The closure of the Kaijima coalmine in 1976 marked the end of coal mining in the Chikuho coalfield.

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Government-run Yahata Steel Works

The government-run Yahata Steel Works began operations in 1901 under the Meiji government's policy of "Encourage Industry and New Industry," marking Japan’s first integrated pig iron and steel mill. Before World War II, it was the largest steel mill in Japan, producing more than half of the nation’s steel and manufacturing a wide variety of steel products in large quantities. The decision to locate the mill in Onga District, Fukuoka Prefecture (now Yahatahigashi Ward, Kitakyushu City, where our head office is located) was strategic. The location provided a well-established supply chain for the rapid and large-scale transportation of coal from the Chikuho coalfields, and it offered the convenience of a port advantageous for both military defense and raw material procurement. Today, the site is part of the Yahata District of Kyushu Steel Works, under Nippon Steel Corporation. The government-run Yawata Steel Works is now registered as a World Heritage Site as part of the "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding, and Coal Mining."

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Kitakyushu Industrial Area

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The Kitakyushu Industrial Area developed around the government-run Yahata Steel Works. Fueled by coal from the Chikuho coalfields and bolstered by a port capable of importing raw materials such as iron ore from mainland China, the area transformed from a fishing village into a major industrial city. Today, from the Kanmon Straits to the coast of Dokai Bay, the region is home to heavy and large-scale industries, including the steel industry, led by Nippon Steel Corporation, the non-ferrous metal industry with companies like Toho Titanium, and the coal and coke industry represented by Nippon Coke & Co., Ltd. Additionally, the chemical industry, with leaders like Mitsubishi Chemical, the ceramics industry with TOTO and Kurosaki Harima, and shipbuilding by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are prominent. The region is also notable for industrial machinery, exemplified by Yaskawa Electric, the automobile industry with Toyota, Nissan, and Daihatsu, and cement manufacturing with Aso Cement and UBE Mitsubishi Cement. Collectively, these industries have made the Kitakyushu Industrial Region a powerhouse. In recent years, the construction of semiconductor factories across the Kyushu region has further cemented its status as a "Silicon Island."