According to data released by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF), the country’s imports of ordinary carbon steel totaled 4.91 million tons in 2014, rising by 18% year-on-year.

Also, the imports hit the highest level since 1997, when the total ordinary steel imports reached 5.66 million tons.

In 2014, Korea was the largest exporter of ordinary steel to Japan with 3.24 million tons, increasing by 13%; Taiwan was the second largest with 1.01 million tons, rising by 6.5%, both compared to the figures in 2013.