JAPAN MINERALS YEARBOOK—1988MITI and Japanese industry sources,
demand
for gold and silver by end user in 1986—88 is as shown in table
7.

 
 Indium.—Japan was the world's largest producer of indium in 1988.
The continued high level of indium prices and rapid growth in the application
of indium-tin oxide for production of transparent electrodes motivated the
four Japanese producers to produce a record-high quantity of indium metal.
The amount of indium produced by Nippon Mining Co. Ltd. at its Saganoseki
plant in Oita Prefecture was about 24 tons. Dowa Mining Co. Ltd. at its Kosaka
plant in Akita Prefecture, Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd. at its Takehara
plant in Hiroshima Prefecture, and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. at its
Harima plant in Hyogo Prefecture together produced about 24 tons. According
to Japanese industry sources, between 18 and 20 tons of indium was recovered
by recycling scrap of indium phosphate, compound semiconductors, and other
scrap containing indium. 
 Despite higher import prices, imports of indium remained at a high level,
but slightly less than that of 1987. In 1988, Japan imported 29.6 tons of
indium, mainly from the United States, 8.7 tons; France, 6.7 tons; Italy,
5.6 tons; Canada, 4.8 tons; and China, 1.5 tons. The average import c.i.f.
price was $309 per kilogram, compared with $192 per kilogram in 1987. 
 According to The Rare Metal News of Japan, total demand for indium in 1988
rose 22°lo to 59.6 tons. Estimated consumption by user in 1988 was
as
follows: 
indium-tin oxide for transparent electrodes, 16 tons; indium-boron oxide
for fluorescents, 12 tons; semiconductors, 8 tons; and fusible alloy solder,
6.5 tons; dental amalgams and demisters, 3 tons each; electrical contact
points, 2.6 tons; batteries, bearings, videcom tubes, and other, 11.1 tons.

 
 Iron and Steel.—During 1988, the Kamaishi Mine in Iwate, the only
major 
 
312 
iron mine in Japan, and other major nonferrous metal mines cut back mine
output. As a result, domestic production of iron ore and roasted pyrite dropped
to a record low representing just 0.3% of Japan's iron ore requirements.
Virtually all of Japan's iron ore requirements were met by imports. 
 Because of increased demand for iron ore by the blast furnace sector, imports
of iron ore, including sinters, pellets, and iron sands rose by 10% to 123.4
million tons. Of this total, 42.5% was from Australia, 22.6% from Brazil,
17.6% from India, 4% each from Chile and the Republic of South Africa, and
9.3% from other countries. Among these major suppliers, imports from Australia
increased by 9 million tons, accounting for 79% of increased iron ore imports
in 1988. Japan also imported 3 1 1 ,388 tons of ferruginous manganese ore
from the Republic of South Africa, 83 .6% , and India, 
16.4%. 
 Consumption of iron ore rose 8% to 129.4 million tons; production of pig
iron, mostly by blast furnaces, also rose 8% to 79.3 million tons. About
99% of pig iron production was for steelmaking and 1% for foundry. Despite
brisk demand, the iron and steel industry scrapped 2 of its 50 blast furnaces
and scaled down its blast furnace capacity by 1 million tons to 101.9 million
tons. Only 37 of 48 blast furnaces operated in 1988. Overall pig iron capacity
was reduced by 1 million tons to 102 million tons per year in 1988. Blast
furnace productivity, as measured by tons of pig iron output per cubic meter
of blast furnace volume per day, rose to 1.89 from 1.76 in l987.'~ 
 Japan had been importing more pig iron than ferrous scrap since 1987, because
the world price of pig iron was lower than that of ferrous scrap. As a result,
imports of pig iron rose by 102% to 2.9 million tons while imports of ferrous
scrap declined by 24% to 1.8 million tons. Increased domestic supplies of
steel scrap also resulted in a decline in imports of ferrous scrap. 
Japan's import reliance on ferrous scrap dropped to 4.3% from 5.7% in 1987.
The United States provided 
754,000 tons of ferrous scrap, accounting for 42% of Japan's ferrous scrap
imports in 1988. 
 Japan remained the world's second largest crude steel producer, accounting
for 13.6% of the world's production in 1988. Benefiting from the continued
rise in domestic demand by the construction and manufacturing industries,
crude steel production topped the 100-million-ton level for the first time
in 3 years and reached a new record since 1980. Of the crude steel produced
in 1988, 70.3% was processed by basic oxygen furnaces and 29.7% by electric
furnaces. Japan remained the most efficient producer of rolled steel in the
world, with a continuous casting ratio of 93.3%, compared with 59.8% in the
United States and 16. 1 ¾ in the U.S.S.R. in 1988. 
 The industry scrapped 7 of its 85 basic oxygen furnaces and 24 of its 514
electric furnace in 1988. As a result, the industry's crude steel capacity
was scaled down to 143.3 million tons per year from 152.2 million tons per
year in 1987. The number of continuous casting machines was also reduced
to 149 from 15 1 in 1987, but capacity was raised to 87.5 million tons per
year from 87.2 million tons in 1987. 
 According to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, the continued rise in
demand for steel by the construction and manufacturing industries generated
an increase in Japan's apparent steel consumption in crude steel equivalence
to 86.8 million tons from 75.8 million tons in 1987. Exports of steel in
crude steel equivalence declined further, however, to 26.1 million tons from
28.0 million tons while imports rose to 
7.3 million tons from 5.3 million tons owing to a higher yen value. In terms
of per-capita apparent crude steel consumption, Japan ranked the world's
top consumer at 620 kilograms, compared with 422 kilograms for the United
States and 577 kilograms for the