ABSTRACT
With the compromise reached between the select members of the Upper and Lower Houses, the Promotion Law of 1917 was to create a new footing for the future of the iron and steel industry. It was intended that this Law would provide the necessary industrial guidance to weather the economic turmoil of the war years and foster the industry’s development. As we have seen, the principal benefactors of the final compromise tonnage of 5,250 were the large companies and the government-owned and operated Yawata Works. Though the larger capacity sites were favoured by the Promotion Law, it was not only this advantage but also the prevailing economic circumstances that characterized the 1920s that led to a further marked bifurcation in the development of the industry, witnessing the expansion of the large sites apace with domestic economic growth and the smaller sites lagging behind with bankruptcies not uncommon.
